LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 

IN  MEMORY  OF 

STEWART  S.  HOWE 

JOURNALISM  CLASS  OF  1928 

STEWART  S.  HOWE  FOUNDATION 


917.731 
H23c 


I.H.S. 


PROPERTY  Of 

KENDALL  i.  LINGLE 


When  Chicago  "Dreams" 

The  amazing  beauty  of  the  Court  of  Honor  at  the  World's  Fair  is  here 
vividly  suggested  by  the  famous  landscape  painter,  Thomas  Moran,  whose  color- 
ful portrayal  of  the  scenic  wonders  of  the  Yellowstone  and  Colorado  region 
secured  him  place  in  the  Capitol  at  Washington.  The  splendid  Administration 
Building,  with  the  thrilling  fountain  at  its  feet,  admonishes  Chicago,  as  perhaps 
the  Chicago  Plan  Commission  would  have  it  do,  that  the  forthcoming  civic 
center  of  this  great  city  may  find  a  model  in  the  glories  of  the  past. 

This  picture,  one  of  a  series  of  color  prints  executed  for  the  "Book  of  the 
Builders,"  is  reproduced  by  courtesy  of  T.  W.  Foster. 


CHICAGO 


A  HISTORY 

AND  FORECAST 


Editor 
WM.  HUDSON  HARPER 

Contributors 

MILO  MILTON  QUAIFE 
MABEL   McILVAINE 


Published  by 

THE  CHICAGO  ASSOCIATION  OF  COMMERCE 
1921 


Chicago's  municipal  flag  was  officially  adopted  April  4,  1917.  It 
was  chosen  after  a  competition  by  a  special  commission.  The 
designer  is  Wallace  Rice.  Its  stripes  are  blue  and  white.  Its 
stars  svmbolize  the  Great  Fire  and  World's  Fair. 


COPYRIGHT,  1921 
THE  CHICAGO  ASSOCIATION  OF  COMMERCE 


PREFACE 

(7 

This  book  is  issued  by  The  Chicago  Association  of 
Commerce,  as  a  feature  of  service  in  organizing  the  cele- 
bration of  fifty  years  of  progress  since  this  city  passed 
through  the  Great  Fire  of  October  9,  1871,  and  in  ashes 
was  reborn.  It  is  dedicated  to  the  founders,  far-visioned 
and  enduring;  to  their  successors  who  have  carried  on 
and  built  the  city;  and  to  the  hope  of  tomorrow,  Chi- 
cago's splendid  youth  of  all  bloods  and  altars,  but  of 
one  growing  faith  in  this  wonderful  home  of  the  world. 

It  is  believed  that  at  this  time  many,  who  boast  their 
citizenship  and  expectations  here,  will  read  with  interest 
and  renewal  of  civic  purpose  a  brief  recital  of  the  acts 
of  those  who  came  and  saw  and  conquered,  and  will  wel- 
come information  about  activities  of  a  restricted  but  pro- 
gressive community  which  aspires  toward  leadership  in 
the  spirit,  in  government,  in  business,  in  education  and 
the  arts. 

Accordingly,  by  the  hands  of  competent  specialists,  is 
herewith  offered  certain  historical  narratives  opportune 
to  this  hour,  and  by  the  editor  is  submitted  as  the  for- 
ward-looking division  of  the  book  matter  descriptive  of 
existing  or  projected  work  which  either  has  already  had 
popular  approval  or  now  invites  the  judgment  of  the 
wise,  that  the  next  generation  shall  come  into  a  practical 
inheritance  and  that  the  candle  of  today  shall  be  the  sun 
of  tomorrow. 

The  facts  and  opinions  wrought  into  this  series  of 
statements,  constituting  something  in  the  nature  of  a 
synopsis  of  the  elements  of  a  Chicago  development  pro- 
gram for  the  next  quarter  or  half  century,  have  been 
derived  from  authoritative  sources,  and  care  has  been 
used  to  present  the  various  issues  without  prejudice, 
partisanship  or  controversial  pleading. 

The  forces  and  facilities  of  progress  command  the 
imagination  and  will  of  a  great  people. 


To  those  in  various  places  in  Chicago  life  who  have  co- 
operated with  the  editor  by  provision  of  facts  and  opin- 
ions he  offers  sincere  thanks,  while  to  colleagues  on  the 
staff  of  The  Chicago  Association  of  Commerce,  good 
fellows  all  who  lend  a  ready  hand,  his  thanks  go  out 
with  equal  fervor,  and  he  expresses  the  hope  of  Mr. 
Joseph  R.  Noel,  president  of  the  Association;  Mr. 
Robert  B.  Beach,  its  business  manager,  and  Mr.  Charles 
Herrick  Hammond,  chairman  of  the  Semi-Centennial 
Committee,  that  this  little  volume  may  prove  in  a  sort  of 
way  a  textbook  of  progress,  at  least  a  partial  schedule 
of  principles  for  the  methodical  direction  of  Chicago's 
future. 

W.  H.  H. 

September  27,  1921 


-ZEsop,  the  Greek  slave  of  twenty-six  cen- 
turies ago,  who  consorted  with  kings  of 
thought  and  watched  the  ways  of  men — men 
both  wise  and  simple — bequeathed  certain  im- 
mortal sayings  to  posterity.  Fables  they  are 
and  one,  entitled  "The  Belly  and  the  Mem- 
bers," counsels  thiswise: 

"One  day  it  occurred  to  the  Members  of  the 
Body  that  they  were  doing  all  the  work  and 
the  Belly  was  having  all  the  food.  So  they 
held  a  meeting,  and  after  long  discussion  de- 
cided to  strike  work  till  the  Belly  consented  to 
take  its  proper  share  of  the  work.  So  for  a 
day  or  two  the  Hands  refused  to  take  the 
food,  the  Mouth  refused  to  receive  it,  and  the 
Teeth  had  no  work  to  do.  But  after  a  day  or 
two  the  Members  began  to  find  that  they 
themselves  were  not  in  a  very  active  condi- 
tion; the  Hands  could  hardly  move,  and  the 
Mouth  was  all  parched  and  dry,  while  the  Legs 
were  unable  to  support  the  rest.  So  thus  they 
found  that  even  the  Belly  in  its  dull,  quiet  way 
was  doing  necessary  work  for  the  Body,  and 
that  all  must  work  together  or  the  Body  will 
go  to  pieces." 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Page 

From  Marquette  to  the  Great  Fire 9 

Fifty  Years  of  New  Chicago 33 

Things  Done  and  to  Do 85 

Citizenship   89 

Woman  and  the  New  Chicago 93 

Progressive  Government   96 

Chicago  Needs  Program  of  Religion 103 

Social  Welfare   113 

Education  and  the  Future 117 

A  Greater  Chicago's  Health 129 

Public  Safety 133 

Chicago  Weather   , ! 136 

Public  Library   138 

Chicago  Historical  Society 141 

Chicago  and  the  Arts 144 

The  Chicago  Plan 153 

Subways 176 

Railway  Terminals 180 

Zoning  New  Chicago  Task 185 

Commerce  and  Industry 188 

Chicago  in  Banking 196 

Chicago  as  Cotton  Market 204 

New  Industries   208 

Industrial  Relations 211 

Chicago's  Drainage 216 

Chicago  Needs  Convention  Hall 221 

Railway  Clearing  Yards 223 

Growth  of  Community  Centers 225 

Chicago  as  Aviation  Center 227 

Water  Transportation   230 

Illiana  Harbor 237 

Calumet  Industrial  Harbor 242 

Postal  Service  244 

Public  Utilities 247 

Chicago's  Freight  Tunnels  249 

Railway  Electrification 250 

Street  Lighting   252 

Industries  on  Drainage  Canal 254 

Municipal  Miscellany   255 


SEMI-  CE/NTE/MAIIAL. 

CELEBRATIOAI 

CHICAGO  FIRE 

OCTOBER   2 


Poster    proclaiming    celebration    of    Great    Fire 
anniversary. 

The  personifying  figure  of  Chicago  was  given  to  the  city 
by  The  Inter  Ocean,  March  20,  1892,  when  that  paper,  now 
extinct,  but  long  maintained  as  a  Republican  authority  by 
Win.  Penn  Nixon,  was  in  possession  of  H.  H.  Kohlsaat. 
The  artist,  whose  conception  had  the  approval  of  a  dis- 
tinguished jury,  was  Charles  Holloway.  Here  for  the  first 
time  Chicago  saw  its  characteristic  vigor  and  purpose  in  sym- 
bolic  portraiture,  artistically  executed,  and  its  genius  last- 
ingly proclaimed  in  a  perfect  motto. 

Shortly  after  the  Chicago  Tribune  produced  a  city  seal 
for  popular  use,  and  later  The  Chicago  Association  of 
Commerce  introduced  therein  the  potent  advertising  legend, 
"The  Great  Central  Market." 

The  motto  of  the  current  Great  Fire  anniversary  —  "Un- 
daunted —  We  Build"  —  is  the  happy  invention  of  Maurice 
Blink,  president  of  the  Commercial  Art  Engraving  Company. 


CHICAGO'S    STORY    FROM    JOLLIET 

AND  MARQUETTE  TO  THE 

GREAT   FIRE 


The    Pioneer   Found    Provisions   of    Nature    Promising 
Commanding   City   and  Set  His  Masterful  Hand 
to  the   Building 


Contributed  by  the  Chicago   Historical  Society 

Milo  Milton  Quaife 

Author   of    "Chicago   and   the    Old   Northwest,"   and   Editor   of   the 
"Lakeside  Classics" 

Diedrich  Knickerbocker  began  his  notable  history  of 
New  York  with  the  creation  of  the  world,  and  here  also 
must  any  history  of  Chicago  properly  begin;  for  the 
most  important  factor  in  the  development  of  Chicago  is 
the  economic  environment  responsible  for  her  creation, 
and  this  environment  was  determined  when  the  Creator 
moulded  the  Continent  of  North  America. 

The  force  of  this  observation  will  become  quickly  evi- 
dent to  anyone  who  will  consider  attentively  Chicago's 
position  on  the  map.  Lying  at  the  head  of  Lake  Michi- 
gan, in  the  heart  of  the  richest  river  valley  on  the  globe, 
to  Chicago  all  roads  lead,  even  as  of  old  they  led  to 
ancient  Rome.  Into  this  city,  through  which  no  railway 
train  ever  passes,  pours  the  golden  stream  of  wheat  from 
a  thousand  leagues  of  western  prairie.  For  its  enrich- 
ment the  cornfields  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  the  live- 
stock grown  on  the  sunny  plains  of  Texas  and  those  of 
cold  Alberta,  the  forests  of  Wisconsin  and  the  iron  mines 
of  Minnesota  yield  alike  their  share  of  tribute,  with  the 
inevitable  result  that  here  in  less  than  a  century  has 
developed  one  of  the  chief  primary  markets  and  prin- 
cipal manufacturing  centers  of  the  globe. 

Long  Before  the  White  Man  Came 

These  facts  about  the  modern  Chicago  are  common- 
place enough,  but  comparatively  few  are  aware  that  for 
generations  before  the  white  man  began  his  work  of  up- 


building  the  modern  city,  when  for  a  thousand  miles 
around  brooded  the  silence  of  the  wilderness,  nature  had 
made  of  Chicago  a  point  of  importance,  the  rendezvous 
of  parties  from  far  and  wide  bent  on  missions  alike  of 
war  and  peace.  This  importance  proceeded  naturally 
from  the  conditions  of  travel  and  intercourse  in  the  wil- 
derness. Over  all  the  eastern  half  of  the  continent  the 
forest  stretched  practically  unbroken,  penetrated  only 
by  the  narrow  Indian  trail  or  the  winding  river.  Thus 
the  rivers  and  lakes  afforded  almost  the  only  highways 


Says  Mr.  Quaife,  in  his  accompanying  historical  narrative: 
"Broadly  speaking,  Fort  Dearborn  was  Chicago  for  almost  three 
decades.  *  *  *  When  the  troops  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Chicago  River  in  August,  1803,  they  found  here  several  traders' 
huts  or  cabins,  three  of  which  were  occupied  by  French 
Canadians." 

Permission    of    Central    Trust    Company    of    Illinois,    the    picture   being    copy    of 
one  of  a   series  of  mural  historical  paintings  in  that   bank  by   Clarence    C.    Earle. 

through  the  wilderness;  and  Chicago  lay  on  one  of  the 
principal  routes  of  travel  between  the  two  great  river 
systems  of  the  continent,  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Mis- 
sissippi. Here  at  the  south  end  of  Lake  Michigan  the 
traveler  could  portage  his  canoe  from  the  Chicago  River 
to  the  upper  waters  of  the  Illinois,  where  he  found  him- 
self upon  a  ready  highway  leading  to  the  farthest  sources 
of  the  thousand  tributaries  of  the  Father  of  Waters. 

Thus  it  was  inevitable  that  the  site  of  Chicago  should 
be  known  to  Europeans  from  the  time  when  they  first 
penetrated  to  the  interior  of  the  continent.  Forest 

10 


rangers  were  not  commonly  men  of  letters,  and  we  can- 
not say  who  was  the  first  white  man  to  visit  the  place; 
but  it  is  characteristic  of  the  city  which  has  since  grown 
up  that  the  first  two  visitors  of  whom  we  have  record 
were  traders;  likewise  they  were  lawbreakers,  for  they 
were  roving  the  wilderness  in  defiance  of  the  decrees 
issued  in  the  name  of  His  Most  Christian  Majesty,  Louis 
the  Fourteenth  of  France,  to  whose  realm  Chicago  then 
belonged. 

Chicago's  Recorded  History  Begins 

With  the  momentous  exploration  conducted  by  Louis 
Jolliet  in  the  summer  of  1673  the  recorded  history  of 
Chicago  really  begins.  The  Mississippi  had  been  dis- 
covered by  De  Soto,  and  its  lower  reaches  explored,  over 
a  century  before,  and  about  the  same  time  the  French 
had  begun  their  efforts  at  colonizing  the  lower  valley 
of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Now  Jolliet,  sent  out  by  the  gov- 
ernor of  New  France,  discovered  the  upper  Mississippi 
and  followed  its  course  far  enough  to  determine  that  it 
emptied  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Thus  the  identifica- 
tion of  the  upper  Mississippi  with  the  great  river  De  Soto 
had  discovered  was  established;  and  hard  upon  the  heels 
of  Jolliet  came  another  dauntless  Frenchman,  the  sieur 
de  La  Salle,  bent  on  realizing  his  imperial  vision  of  a 
New  France  which  should  stretch  from  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

A  companion  of  Jolliet  on  his  voyage  of  1673  had 
been  the  gentle  priest,  Father  Jacques  Marquette.  So 
favorably  was  he  received  by  the  natives  of  Illinois  that 
he  resolved  to  return  at  an  early  date  and  establish  a 
mission  here.  This  determination  he  carried  out  the  fol- 
lowing season.  Leaving  Depere  (near  modern  Green 
Bay)  in  the  late  autumn  of  1674,  he  journeyed  along 
the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  as  far  as  Chicago,  where, 
overtaken  by  illness,  he  tarried  through  the  winter  in 
a  rude  shelter  erected  some  distance  up  the  south  branch 
of  the  river.  In  the  spring  he  went  on  to  the  vicinity 
of  modern  Ottawa,  preached  to  the  friendly  natives,  and 
then  with  the  hand  of  death  already  upon  him  hastened 
to  return  to  distant  St.  Ignace,  dying  en  route  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Notepseakan  River,  where  Ludington  now 
stands.  Other  missionaries  seized  the  torch  which  fell 

11 


from  the  dying  hand  of  Marquette,  and  from  that  day  to 
this  the  Gospel  has  been  preached  in  Illinois. 

La  Salle  and  Tonty 

While  the  missionaries  were  thus  zealously  laying  the 
foundations  of  the  church  in  Illinois,  its  commercial  pos- 


FLORIO'f 


Father  Marquette's  own  map  of  the  regions  of  his  explorations 
with  Jolliet,  1673-1674. 

Permission    of    Chicago    Historical    Society. 

sibilities  were  being  no  less  eagerly  exploited  by  the 
traders.  Of  these  La  Salle,  "first  promoter  of  big  busi- 
ness in  the  West,"  was  for  almost  a  decade,  until  his 

12 


tragic  death  in  1687,  the  leading  figure;  and  from  his 
Fort  St.  Louis  on  Starved  Rock  for  a  decade  and  a  half 
longer  his  faithful  lieutenant,  Tonty,  continued  to  domi- 
nate the  red  men  and  monopolize  the  trade  of  the  sur- 
rounding region. 

It  was  in  this  early  period,  too,  that  the  dream,  even 
yet  only  partially  realized,  of  opening  a  practicable 
waterway  from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
was  first  conceived.  By  cutting  a  canal  of  half  a  league 
at  the  Chicago  portage,  Jolliet  reported,  a  bark  could 
sail  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Gulf.  A  few  years  later 
La  Salle  took  sharp  issue  with  this  statement  of  Jolliet, 
showing  clearly  the  uselessness  for  all  practical  pur- 
poses of  such  a  canal,  since  the  real  head  of  navigation 
on  the  Illinois  was  not  the  point  on  the  upper  Des  Plaines 
opposite  the  South  Branch  of  the  Chicago,  but  instead 
at  Fort  St.  Louis,  one  hundred  miles  below.  In  later 
years  by  dint  of  frequent  repetition  the  error  of  Jolliet 
effected  lodgment  in  the  public  mind,  and  on  July  4, 
1836,  the  digging  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal 
was  gaily  entered  upon;  but  weary  years  of  disappoint- 
ment ensued  to  dampen  the  ardor  of  the  hopeful  citi- 
zens of  Chicago  before  the  first  boat  passed  through  the 
canal  in  the  summer  of  1848;  and  the  sequel  confirmed 
the  accuracy  of  La  Salle's  observations  over  a  century 
and  a  half  before,  for  Jolliet's  ditch  of  "half  a  league" 
had  lengthened  to  one  hundred  miles,  and  the  cost  to 
many  millions  of  dollars. 

After  Jolliet's  Voyage  of  1673 

The  period  of  French  occupation  of  the  Northwest 
continued  for  ninety  years  after  Jolliet's  voyage  of  1673. 
During  these  decades  the  prosecution  of  the  fur  trade 
constituted  the  sole  economic  interest  of  France  in  this 
region,  to  effect  which  posts  were  established  at  strategic 
points  throughout  the  Northwest,  and  the  tribesmen  were 
cajoled  by  friendly  artifices  or  subjugated  by  martial 
means,  as  the  exigencies  of  the  French  might  dictate. 
A  notable  feature  of  this  period  was  the  half-century 
struggle  between  the  French  and  the  Fox  tribe  of  Wis- 
consin, in  which  the  Illinois  and  other  tribes  were  em- 
broiled as  allies  of  the  French.  Periodically,  too,  war 
parties  of  braves  from  Illinois  and  Wisconsin,  and  even 

13 


^V-.P/vt  ,    'eL£*.fii* 


Pi 


You  are  looking  at  one  of  the  most  interesting  epistolary  records 
of  Chicago's  age  of  discovery.  Here  is  a  letter,  the  middle 
portion  eliminated  for  economy  of  space,  written  by  La  Salle — 
and  his  signature  is  visible — from  "Le  Checagou,  le  ler  7bre, 
1683,"  to  Tonty  and  his  other  followers  at  Fort  St.  Louis  (Starved 
Rock  in  the  Illinois  River) ,  advising  them  how  best  to  conduct 
the  Indian  trade  and  keep  harmony  among  the  voyagers. 

Permission    of    Chicago    Historical    Society. 

14 


from  points  beyond  the  Mississippi,  went  down  to  Mont- 
real and  Quebec  to  assist  their  Great  Father  in  his  nu- 
merous wars  with  the  English.  Illinois  and  Wisconsin 
tribesmen  thus  marched  with  Denonville  in  his  invasion 
of  New  York  in  1687 ;  they  massacred  the  English  troops 
at  Braddock's  defeat  in  1755  and  at  Fort  William  Henry 
two  years  later;  and  they  fought  under  the  banner  of 
Montcalm  in  the  defense  of  Quebec  against  General 
Wolfe  in  1759.  When  at  length  New  France  fell,  and 
the  triumphant  English  reached  out  to  take  possession 
of  their  conquest  in  the  West,  the  tribesmen,  led  by 
Pontiac,  turned  fiercely  upon  them.  The  garrisons  at 
St.  Joseph  and  Mackinac  were  massacred,  Green  Bay  was 
abandoned,  and  for  over  a  year  Detroit  was  hotly  be- 
sieged. But  not  even  the  genius  of  Pontiac  could  en- 
able the  red  men  long  to  withstand  the  oncoming  Eng- 
lish. In  1764  he  made  his  peace  with  the  conquerors; 
three  or  four  years  later  in  southern  Illinois  a  renegade 
Indian,  bribed  with  a  keg  of  English  rum,  sunk  a  toma- 
hawk in  his  brain;  and  over  his  unmarked  grave  throbs 
today  the  busy  life  of  the  great  city  of  St.  Louis. 

New  France  Fades  Into  Anglo-Saxon  North  America 

Wolfe's  conquest  of  Quebec  in  1759  was  one  of  the  de- 
cisive actions  of  all  military  history.  It  made  of  New 
France  but  a  memory  and  gave  the  future  of  North 
America  into  the  keeping  of  the  Anglo-Saxon.  It  ended 
for  all  time  the  dream  of  a  greater  France,  it  compelled 
the  reorganization  of  the  British  empire  on  its  modern 
basis,  and  foreshadowed  the  birth  of  the  United  States 
as  an  independent  nation.  The  battle  on  the  Plain  of 
Abraham  was  thus  a  momentous  factor  in  shaping  the 
future  destiny  of  Chicago.  It  chanced,  however,  that  in 
the  working  out  of  the  problem  of  imperial  reorganiza- 
tion a  dispute  arose  between  the  American  colonists  and 
the  mother  country.  There  ensued  the  struggle  known 
to  American  history  as  the  Revolutionary  War,  one  of 
whose  important  phases  was  the  contest  for  the  control 
of  the  Northwest.  The  British  center  of  operations  in 
the  West  was  Detroit.  Three  hundred  miles  away,  at 
Pittsburg,  was  the  American  center,  and  directed  from 
these  two  headquarters,  the  rival  forces  seesawed  back 
and  forth  in  their  struggle  for  the  mastery  of  the  rich 

15 


region   where   today   beats   the  industrial   and   political 
heart  of  the  nation. 

In  1778  George  Rogers  Clark  with  a  little  army  carried 
the  banner  of  Virginia  into  this  region,  and  for  three 
years  strove  to  reach  Detroit  and  crush  the  British  op- 
position at  its  fountain  head.  In  this  design  he  failed, 
but  the  partial  measure  of  success  achieved  was  never- 
theless a  principal  factor  in  gaining  for  the  new  United 
States,  at  the  treaty  of  Paris  in  1783,  the  Mississippi  as 
its  western  boundary.  During  these  years  of  intrigue 
and  warfare  Chicago  was,  by  virtue  of  her  situation,  at 
the  very  heart  of  the  struggle  in  the  West.  Contending 


Chicago's  first  department   store. 

From    mural    painting   in    Fort    Dearborn    Hotel   by    Edgar   S.    Cameron. 

war  parties  repeatedly  passed  through  or  around  the 
place,  and  where  now  the  steel  mills  of  South  Chicago 
darken  the  sky  by  day  and  redden  it  by  night  was  fougnt 
in  the  winter  of  1780-81  a  miniature  battle. 

Policy  of  "Long  Knives"   Peace  Settlement 

Broadly  viewed,  the  Revolution  in  the  West  was  a 
twenty-year  struggle,  ending  only  with  Wayne's  victory 
over  the  Indians  in  1794  and  the  evacuation  by  the 
British  two  years  later  of  their  posts  throughout  the 
Northwest.  So  completely  have  the  events  of  this  period 
passed  from  the  public  consciousness  that  only  by  a 
positive  exercise  of  the  imagination  can  one  compre- 
hend how  as  late  as  1790  a  British  partisan  in  central 
Indiana  could  write  as  though  he  were  in  the  heart  of 

16 


the  British  empire,  as  for  all  practical  purposes  he  ac- 
tually was. 

The  sharp  lesson  driven  home  by  Wayne's  bayonets  at 
the  battle   of  Fallen  Timbers   at   length   convinced   the 


1 1 


Chicago's  latest  department  store,  with  victory  parade  of 
returning  forces. 

tribesmen  that  the  power  of  the  "Long  Knives,"  as  the 
Americans  were  called,  could  no  longer  be  ignored  in 
the  Northwest.  In  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  which  the 

17 


victorious  general  extorted  the  following  year,  pains 
were  taken  to  acquire  from  the  natives  the  title  to  tracts 
of  land  at  the  most  strategic  points  through  the  Indian 
country  for  the  erection  of  forts,  and  the  free  passage 
of  the  rivers  and  portages  connecting  these  points. 
Among  the  reservations  thus  secured  was  "One  piece  of 
Land  Six  Miles  Square  at  the  Mouth  of  Chicago  River 
emptying  into  the  Southwest  end  of  Lake  Michigan." 

For  several  years,  following  the  Greenville  cession, 
there  were  rumors  afloat  of  a  governmental  intention  to 
establish  a  fort  at  Chicago.  At  length  the  design  as- 
sumed tangible  form  when  in  the  spring  of  1803  Captain 
John  Whistler  was  sent  overland  from  Detroit  with  an 
escort  of  six  men  to  examine  the  route  and  report  on  the 
practicability  of  marching  a  company  of  infantry  to 
Chicago.  A  few  weeks  later  the  march  was  made  and  in 
the  bend  of  the  river  where  now  stands  the  Michigan 
Avenue  bridge,  amid  hardships  and  privations  which  we 
of  the  present  day  can  scarcely  imagine,  the  walls  of  the 
stockade  fort  began  slowly  10  rise. 

For  Three  Decades  Fort  Dearborn  Was  Chicago 

Broadly  speaking,  Fort  Dearborn  was  Chicago  for  al- 
most three  decades.  Traders  had  visited  the  place  from 
Jolliet's  time  onward  and  had  made,  it  seems  probable, 
more  or  less  lengthy  sojourns  here.  In  the  main,  how- 
ever, the  hand  of  time  has  wiped  out  all  knowledge  of 
their  doings,  and  none  may  say  with  assurance  who  was 
the  first  white  resident  of  Chicago.  Governor  Reynolds 
tells  a  remarkable  story  of  a  French  woman,  Madam 
La  Compt,  whom  he  knew  in  after  years  at  Cahokia, 
who  lived  at  Chicago  with  her  husband  for  several  years 
prior  to  the  Revolution.  When  Gurdon  Hubbard  came 
here  as  a  youth  in  1818  he  was  shown  by  an  old  French 
trader  the  traces  of  corn  hills  on  the  west  side  of  the 
North  Branch,  and  told  that  as  early  as  1778  a  trader 
by  the  name  of  Guarie  had  lived  here.  This  chance 
story  aside,  our  only  hint  of  trader  Guarie's  existence  is 
the  record  of  Major  Long's  exploring  expedition  in  1823 
that  the  North  Branch  was  then  known  as  the  "Gary 
River." 

More  tangible  is  the  memory  of  Trader  Baptiste  Point 
du  Sable,  who  was,  according  to  his  own  description, 

18 


"a  free  mulatto  man."  Du  Scble,  like  most  Indian 
traders,  wandered  widely  in  pursuit  of  his  calling,  and 
we  find  him  at  different  times  at  Chicago,  Peoria,  St. 
Louis  and  other  points.  In  1779  he  was  at  Michigan  City 
with  a  stock  of  goods  whose  principal  item  was  ten  bar- 
rels of  rum.  In  1783  he  was  living  at  Peoria,  and  in  1790 
at  Chicago.  He  lived  with  an  Indian  woman,  and  a  daugh- 
ter of  this  union  became  the  wife  of  Jean  B.  Pellitier  of 
Cahokia.  Some  time  toward  the  close  of  the  century 
Du  Sable  sold  his  cabin  at  Chicago  to  another  French 
trader  named  Le  Mai  and  withdrew  to  Missouri,  where 
he  was  living  as  late  as  1814. 

Troops  Arrived  August,  1803 

When  the  troops  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  Chicago 
River  in  August,  1803.  they  found  here  several  traders' 
huts  or  cabins,  three  of  which  were  occupied  by  French 
Canadians,  all  of  whom  were  living  with  Indian  wives. 
These  men  were  Le  Mai,  already  mentioned,  Antoine 
Ouilmette  and  Louis  Pettle.  Pettle  resided  here  until 
1812,  and  probably  perished  in  the  massacre  of  that 
year.  Ouilmette  claimed  to  have  come  to  Chicago  in 
1790,  and  is  known  to  have  lived  here  at  least  from 
1803  until  his  death  some  time  after  1829,  remaining 
even  during  the  years  of  warfare  from  1812  to  1815. 
In  1804,  following  the  founding  of  Fort  Dearborn,  John 
Kinzie,  a  native  of  Canada  of  Scotch  extraction,  who  had 
spent  long  years  in  the  Indian  country,  established  him- 
self in  the  cabin  formerly  owned  by  Du  Sable.  Al- 
though not  the  first  and  never  the  sole  civilian  settler  at 
Chicago,  Kinzie  was  an  abler  man  than  the  French  trad- 
ers, and  this  factor  combined  with  his  racial  and  busi- 
ness connections  to  give  him  a  dominant  position  in  the 
tiny  community  where  he  resided  until  his  death  in  1828, 
saving  the  years  from  1812  to  1816. 

Fort  Dearborn  Massacre  of  1812 

As  at  all  wilderness  outposts,  so  at  Chicago,  life  flowed 
on  in  humdrum  fashion  during  the  years  from  1803  to 
1812.  But  the  outburst  of  war  with  the  mother  country 
rudely  terminated  this  peaceful  existence.  The  red  men, 
smarting  under  the  menace  of  the  steady  advance  of 
American  sentiment  and  the  consequent  loss  of  their 

19 


homes,  seized  the  opportunity  to  fall  upon  the  little 
garrison,  vainly  essaying  to  withdraw  from  Fort  Dear- 
born, and  in  a  short,  sharp  fight  of  fifteen  minutes'  du- 
ration killed  or  made  captive  the  entire  force.  The 
civilian  residents  capable  of  bearing  arms,  twelve  in 
number,  had  been  organized  by  Captain  Heald  as  an 
auxiliary  force,  which  he  denominated  the  "Chicago 
militia."  Some  there  were  of  the  Six  Hundred  who 
came  back  from  Balaklava,  but  the  members  of  the  first 
Chicago  military  organization,  fighting  valiantly  in  de- 
fense of  homes  and  loved  ones,  perished  to  a  man.  Yet 


Bennet  School,  1844,  corner  of  State  and  Madison  Streets,  now 

world's  busiest  traffic  crossing.     This  school  was  one  of  the  first 

private  schools  in  Illinois. 

By   permission    of    Chicago    Trust    Company. 

no  poet  has  ever  sung  their  praise,  and  the  city  for  which 
they  died  remains  oblivious  of  the  sacrifice. 

Peace  with  Great  Britain  was  concluded  at  the  close  of 
1814,  but  it  still  remained  to  gain  control  of  the  Indians 
of  the  Northwest,  who,  during  the  war,  had  made  com- 
mon cause  with  Great  Britain.  As  a  means  to  this  end 
it  was  determined  to  make  the  red  men  commercially  de- 
pendent upon  the  United  States  by  denying  to  the  British 
traders,  upon  whom  they  had  hitherto  relied,  access  to 
their  country.  In  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War  in 
the  spring  of  1816,  General  Cass  pointed  out  that  this 
communication  was  effected  through  three  great  chan- 

20 


nels  of  trade :  the  route  from  Lake  Superior  to  the  upper 
Mississippi,  the  Fox-Wisconsin  river  route  from  Lake 
Michigan  to  the  Mississippi,  and  the  route  by  Chicago 
and  the  Illinois  between  the  same  bodies  of  water.  These 
two  latter  routes  were  the  ones  most  commonly  used,  and 
to  cut  off  this  trade,  Cass  urged,  it  was  only  necessary 
to  establish  garrisons  at  Green  Bay  and  Chicago.  Gov- 
ernmental decision  followed  promptly  in  this  instance 
and  in  July,  1816,  the  American  flag  waved  once  more 
over  Chicago,  never  from  this  time  to  be  hauled  down. 

Forces  Presaging  the  New  Chicago 

For  several  years  life  at  the  New  Fort  Dearborn  went 
on  much  as  in  the  old  days  before  the  war  of  1812. 
Meanwhile,  far  away  from  the  wilderness  stockade  at  the 
bend  of  the  sluggish  river  forces  were  developing  which 
were  destined  to  remove  forever  the  menace  of  Indian 
attack  and  to  usher  in  the  birth  of  the  new  Chicago. 
These  were,  in  general,  the  persistent  advance  of  Ameri- 
can settlers  westward,  and  in  particular  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Erie  Canal  under  the  guiding  genius  of  Gov- 
ernor DeWitt  Clinton.  The  Erie  Canal  was  a  master 
stroke  of  statesmanly  provision.  It  poured  into  the  lap 
of  New  York  the  limitless  wealth  of  the  western  country 
and  made  her,  apparently  for  all  time,  the  chief  city  of 
the  Atlantic  seaboard.  It  poured  a  veritable  flood  of 
New  England,  New  York  and  (later)  foreign -born  set- 
tlers into  the  upper  Mississippi  Valley.  It  completely 
altered  the  character  of  Illinois,  which  hitherto  had  been 
inhabited  chiefly  by  southern  men  and  economically  de- 
pendent upon  New  Orleans.  By  filling  the  upper  North- 
west with  settlers,  it  made  inevitable  the  birth  of  the 
modern  Chicago.  Happily  Chicago  has  recognized  its 
debt  to  Governor  Clinton  by  naming  a  great  thorough- 
fare in  his  honor. 

Before  the  influence  of  this  far-reaching  event  could 
find  local  expression,  the  obstacle  to  white  settlement 
presented  by  the  Indian  ownership  and  occupancy  of  the 
soil  must  be  removed.  The  accomplishment  of  this  was 
a  long-drawn-out  process,  whose  fulfillment,  broadly 
speaking,  was  signalized  by  the  Black  Hawk  war  of  1832. 
From  the  local  point  of  view  this  is  the  sole  significance 
attaching  to  this  tragic  contest.  It  chanced  to  coincide 

21 


in  point  of  time  with  the  opening  of  an  era  of  commer- 
cial enthusiasm  and  speculation  such  as  the  United  States 
has  never  witnessed  before  or  since  that  decade.  In  the 
West  this  era  found  chief  expression  in  a  rush  of  immi- 
gration and  a  frenzy  of  speculation  in  land. 

Development  Fervor  of  1833 

The  spring  of  1833,  therefore,  ushered  in  the  first  and 
greatest  boom  in  the  history  of  Chicago.     Over  night,  as 


A  grand  mansion  of  the  old  days,  home  of  Eli  B.  Williams  at 
Monroe  Street  and  Wabash  Avenue.  Houses  such  as  these,  with 
trees  and  lawns,  helped  to  strengthen  the  poetic  claim  of  the 
Garden  City's  motto,  "Urbs  in  Horto."  The  house  became  a  well- 
known  restaurant,  the  Maison  Doree.  The  site  was  given  to  the 
University  of  Chicago  three  years  ago. 

Permission  of  E.  G.  Goodspeed. 

it  were,  the  sleepy  military  outpost  was  transformed  into 
a  mushroom  city,  attended  by  all  the  concomitants  of 
ugliness  and  vigor  which  are  characteristic  of  such  a 

22 


development.  A  single  incident  will  sufficiently  illus- 
trate the  speculative  mania  of  the  period.  In  1835  Gur- 
don  Hubbard  became  part  owner  of  an  eighty-acre  tract 
extending  westward  from  the  North  Branch  between 
Chicago  Avenue  and  Kinzie  Street,  purchased  for  $5,000. 
Even  this  price  would  have  been  deemed  fabulous  a  year 
or  two  before.  Chancing  to  visit  New  York  a  few  months 
later,  Hubbard  found  to  his  amazement  a  wild  specu- 
lation going  on  in  Chicago  town  lots.  Hastily  hunting 
up  an  engraver,  he  caused  a  plat  to  be  drawn  from  his 
verbal  description  of  the  tract,  and  sold  one-half  of  it 
at  auction  for  $80,000.  Reports  of  the  transaction  pre- 
ceded Hubbard  homeward,  but  they  seemed  so  extrava- 
gant that  even  the  thrifty  Chicago  speculators  regarded 
them  as  incredible  until  Hubbard  himself  arrived  to 
authenticate  them.  The  further  revision  upward  of  paper 
valuations  of  town  lots  which  thereupon  ensued  can  well 
be  left  to  the  imagination. 

And  Now  a  City 

By  1837  Chicago  had  become  a  community  of  several 
thousand  souls  and  achieved  the  dignity  of  a  city.  About 
the  same  time  President  Jackson  pricked  the  bubble  of 
the  nation's  speculative  mania  by  the  issuance  of  his 
famous  specie  circular,  and  the  severest  financial  panic 
of  our  national  history  ensued.  At  Chicago  the  intensity 
of  the  depression  corresponded  to  that  of  the  speculative 
madness  which  it  had  brought  to  a  close,  and  for  several 
years  the  new-born  city  stagnated.  Although  the  reaction 
bore  hardly  on  the  townsmen,  carrying  numbers  of 
them  to  financial  ruin  and  rudely  overturning  the  eco- 
nomic structures  which  all  had  reared  on  a  foundation 
of  dreams,  it  had  no  permanent  effect  on  the  city's  fu- 
ture. That  future  was  dependent  upon  the  development 
of  the  West,  which  found  at  Chicago  its  natural  com- 
mercial .clearing  house,  and  while  a  financial  flurry 
might  temporarily  retard,  it  could  no  more  stay  this 
development  than  can  the  art  of  puny  man  stay  the  on- 
ward flow  of  a  glacier.  Even  in  the  midst  of  the  depres- 
sion a  vision  of  the  city's  destiny  was  retained  by  some, 
at  least,  of  the  townsmen. 

From  the  dawn  of  American  history  to  the  opening  of 
the  nineteenth  century  the  sailboat  on  water  and  the 

23 


horse-drawn  vehicle  on  land  were  the  established  modes 
of  transportation.  In  June,  1807,  however,  Fulton  dem- 
onstrated the  practicability  of  steam  navigation  and  be- 
fore two  decades  had  passed  steamboats  were  penetrat- 


An  unfamiliar  picture  of  Lincoln  presented  to  the  Chicago 
Historical  Society  by  Mrs.  W.  J.  Chalmers  of  Chicago.  It  was 
taken  on  the  battlefield  of  Antietam.  Lincoln  is  accompanied 
by  Allan  Pinkerton,  his  personal  bodyguard,  and  by  General 
McClernand. 

Permission    of    Chicago    Historical    Society. 

24 


ing  to  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  re- 
motest shores  of  the  Great  Lakes.  This  development  of 
steam-propelled  navigation  was  the  logical  complement 
to  the  opening  of  the  Erie  Canal  in  promoting  the  settle- 
ment of  the  West.  It  remained,  however,  to  apply  steam 
power  to  transportation  by  land,  and  about  the  year  1830 
this  application  was  begun  in  the  United  States. 

Wilderness  Becomes  a  Fruitful  Hinterland 

We  are  on  the  eve  of  the  most  important  development 
in  the  history  of  Chicago,  for  it  is  scarcely  too  much  to 
say  that  the  modern  city  as  we  now  know  it  is  the  product 
of  the  railroads.  The  story  is  told  that  an  enthusiastic 
newcomer  to  Chicago  shortly  after  the  Black  Hawk  war 
ventured  the  prediction  that  within  five  years  the  place 
would  number  five  thousand  inhabitants,  to  which  an 
army  officer  replied,  "That  cannot  be,  for  there  is  no 
back  country  to  sustain  a  city."  "Back  country"  there 
was  in  plenty,  of  course,  but  it  was  still  a  wilderness, 
and  lacking  in  highways  to  give  Chicago  access  to  it. 
The  railroads  supplied  this  want,  and  today  Chicago's 
back  country  stops  only  at  the  shores  of  the  Pacific. 

It  is  characteristic  of  Chicago's  outlook,  and  of  the 
sources  from  which  her  economic  strength  is  drawn, 
that  the  city's  first  railroad  ran  west  rather  than  east, 
being  designed  not  to  connect  her  with  the  Atlantic,  but 
to  bring  to  her  markets  and  wharves  the  produce  of  her 
rich  hinterland.  In  the  early  years  of  railroad  construc- 
tion there  was  no  conception  of  independent  transporta- 
tion systems  which  should  compete  with  water  routes; 
instead,  the  first  American  railroads  were  designed,  like 
the  canals  they  superseded,  to  span  the  land  lying  be- 
tween navigable  water  courses.  Chicago  lay  at  the  head 
of  navigation  of  the  Great  Lakes,  and  by  the  Erie  Canal 
had  uninterrupted  water  communication  with  New  York 
City.  By  means  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal  the 
city  early  essayed  to  make  connection  with  the  navigable 
waters  of  the  Mississippi,  but  before  the  years  of  delay 
and  disappointment  which  the  execution  of  this  enter- 
prise entailed  were  over,  it  had  become  evident  that  the 
importance  of  the  canal  as  an  instrument  of  transporta- 
tion was  waning,  and  that  other  measures  for  tapping 
the  back  country  were  essential. 

25 


In  the  lead  mine  region  of  northwestern  Illinois  there 
had  begun  about  the  year  1821  an  era  of  vigorous  ex- 
ploitation and  development,  and  within  a  few  years  the 
mining  country  was  dotted  with  thriving  villages  and 
towns.  Chief  among  these  was  Galena,  whose  aspira- 
tions equalled,  and  whose  present  commercial  achieve- 
ments excelled,  those  of  Chicago.  The  Mississippi  af- 
forded the  mines  their  only  commercial  outlet,  and  their 


This  is  the  Chicago  undaunted,  the  picture  which  you  talk 
about  to  your  children's  children.  It  may  seem  to  suggest 
Chicago's  day  off  with  nothing  doing.  Not  so.  It  shows  the 
first  building  put  up  in  the  burned  district  after  the  fire,  the 
office  of  W.  D.  Kerfoot,  and  this  is  the  challenge  and  promise 
which  this  resolute  Chicagoan  flung  forth  to  the  world — and 
the  Chicago  Historical  Society  has  the  original  board  shown  on 
the  left  of  the  house: 

W.  D.  KERFOOT  IS  AT  59  UNION  PARK  PLACE. 

ALL  GONE  BUT  WIFE,  CHILDREN  AND  ENERGY. 

Mark  the  "energy."    That's  why  Chicago  is  here  today.    This 

first  structure  became  a  city  directory,  as  signs  were  tacked 

all  over  it  telling  the  whereabouts  of  business  firms. 

Permission   of    Chicago  Historical   Society. 

principal  trade  connections  were  with  St.  Louis  and 
New  Orleans.  But  with  the  development  of  the  lake- 
board  cities  there  arose  in  the  mines  an  insistent  demand 
for  an  eastern  commercial  outlet.  Milwaukee  and  Chi- 

26 


cago  were  quick  to  perceive  the  advantage  which  would 
accrue  to  the  city  which  should  become  the  eastern  ter- 
minus of  such  a  route,  and  each  harbored  plans  for  the 
construction  of  a  railroad  which  should  tap  the  wealth 
of  the  mines  and  the  upper  Mississippi. 

Ogden   and   Chicago's    First   Railroad 

In  the  expansive  years  of  the  thirties  a  charter  had 
been  taken  out  for  the  Galena  and  Chicago  Union  Rail- 
road, but  for  ten  years  nothing  further  was  done  in  the 
matter.  Then  William  B.  Ogden  became  president  of 
the  company,  and  under  the  impulse  of  his  genius  the 
moribund  enterprise  leaped  into  life.  The  work  of  ac- 
tual construction  was  begun  in  the  autumn  of  1847,  and 
a  year  later  Chicago's  first  railroad  extended  to  the  Des 
Plaines  River.  Not  until  1853  was  Freeport  reached, 
and  the  line  was  never  built  to  Galena,  for  by  this  time 
the  Illinois  Central  had  entered  the  field,  and  the  Galena 
arranged  to  use  the  Central's  tracks  from  Freeport  to 
its  destination.  Thus  was  constructed  the  first  line  of 
what  is  now  the  great  Northwestern  system.  In  Febru- 
ary, 1852,  the  Michigan  Southern  and  Northern  Indiana 
ran  the  first  train  into  Chicago  from  the  East,  and  three 
months  later  the  Michigan  Central  entered  the  city.  The 
development  of  the  greatest  railway  center  on  earth  had 
been  auspiciously  inaugurated. 

Meanwhile  Milwaukee  had  not  abandoned  the  contest, 
and  during  the  early  fifties  not  merely  one  but  two  steel 
roads  were  being  pushed  westward  from  that  city.  One 
reached  Prairie  du  Chien  in  1857,  the  other  entered  La 
Crosse  a  year  later.  Such  was  Milwaukee's  answer  to 
Chicago's  bid  for  the  commercial  supremacy  of  the  West. 
The  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  system,  into  which 
these  lines  presently  evolved,  made  of  Milwaukee  a  great 
city,  but  Chicago's  advantage  of  position  could  not  be 
overcome,  and  to  her  network  of  railroads  the  Milwaukee 
itself  was  presently  added.  Instead  of  deflecting  trade 
from  Chicago,  as  the  Milwaukee  line  was  originally  de- 
signed to  do,  it  became  one  of  the  most  important  feeders 
of  Chicago's  commerce. 

Chicago's  Debt  to  Nature  and  Railroads 

The  railroads  completed  the  work  which  nature  had 
begun  of  making  Chicago  the  great  central  mart  of  the 

27 


continent.  Henceforth  her  growth  was  to  be  conditioned 
only  by  the  growth  of  the  country  itself.  In  1850,  after 
seventeen  years  of  development  unaided  by  the  railroads, 
the  city  had  a  population  of  30,000;  by  1860  this  had 
more  than  tripled,  and  in  the  following  decade.,,  not- 
withstanding the  upheaval  of  the  Civil  War,  it  tripled 
again.  Twenty  years  later  the  population  was  1,100,000, 
and  in  the  twenty  years  ending  with  1910  this  figure  was 
almost  exactly  doubled. 

In  the  years  while  Chicago  was  attaining  the  dimen- 
sions of  a  city,  the  dispute  between  North  and  South 
was  developing  which  was  to  eventuate  in  civil  war.  The 
story  of  this  dispute  and  of  the  war  which  closed  it 


TO 


CHURCH, 
Cor.  Washington  &  Ann  Sis., 


•'":,';i':7"uj?w*''li£ 

R.  B.  MASO»,M«yor. 

W.TAVI  ..R.  C.«,..,t!|.,.       »;, •  «    rS-S)     . 


Stern  days  when  heroic  men  and  women  rose  to  un- 
precedented emergencies. 

Permission    of    Chicago    Historical    Society. 

belongs  to  our  national  history  and  need  not  be  traversed 
here.  As  the  metropolis  of  the  state  which  gave  Grant 
and  Lincoln  to  the  nation  Chicago,  of  course,  played 
a  worthy  part  in  the  contest.  Here  from  an  early  day 
abolition  sentiment  had  been  powerful,  and  when,  after 
the  Compromise  of  1850,  Stephen  A.  Douglas  came  home 
to  account  to  his  constituents  for  his  share  in  that  meas- 
ure the  indignant  citizens  hooted  him  from  the  platform. 
Here  Colonel  Ellsworth  had  acted  his  brief  role  on  the 

28 


stage  of  public  affairs,  and  in  his  person  Chicago  fur- 
nished the  first  hero  of  the  Civil  War. 

Through  War  and  Fire 

Although  the  war  inevitably  dislocated  the  business  of 
Chicago,  it  did  not  greatly  retard,  apparently,  the  city's 
growth.  What  might  have  been  in  the  absence  of  war 
we  cannot  say;  but  despite  it  the  city  grew  from  110,000 
in  1860  to  200,000  in  1866;  and  by  1870  another  hun- 
dred thousand  had  been  added. 

Thus  we  come  to  the  event  whose  recital  is  to  termi- 
nate our  story,  the  Great  Fire  of  October  9,  1871.  To 
the  superficial  eye  the  ways  of  Providence  seem  ofttimes 
mysterious  enough;  to  the  discerning,  "Providence"  is 
seen  commonly  to  be  but  a  subterfuge  for  human  igno- 
rance, folly,  and  greed.  Despite  all  her  pride  of  brawn 
and  bigness,  Chicago  was  preparing  for  herself,  in  the 
years  of  mushroom  growth,  a  fearful  lesson  in  the  art 
of  city  building.  Across  the  broad  plain  which  skirts 
the  river's  mouth  buildings  by  the  thousand  extended, 
constructed  with  no  thought  of  resistance  to  the  greatest 
menace  with  which  our  modern  cities  are  confronted. 
Even  the  very  sidewalks,  made  of  resinous  pine  and  ele- 
vated upon  stringers,  were  combustible,  almost,  as  a 
powder  fuse,  and  the  city's  single  pumping  station,  which 
supplied  the  mains  with  water,  was  covered  with  a  roof 
of  wood!  If  ever  a  city  invited  its  fate,  surely  Chicago 
did  in  1871. 

The  season  was  one  of  excessive  dryness.  Up  from 
the  plains  of  the  far  Southwest  blew  week  after  week  a 
scorching  wind  which  withered  the  growing  crops  and 
turned  the  smiling  green  of  the  prairies  to  a  dull  brick- 
red.  In  the  forests  of  Wisconsin  and  Michigan  confla- 
grations of  unexampled  magnitude  raged,  desolating  en- 
tire districts  and  slaying  hundreds  of  human  beings. 
The  force  which  consumed  the  living  pine  in  the  forests 
would  not  long  be  balked  by  the  seasoned  pine  of 
wooden-housed  Chicago. 

Destruction  Spreads  Fertile  Ashes 

About  the  Great  Fire  volumes  have  been  written,  which 
here  must  be  condensed  to  a  page.  Where  it  started 
is  clear ;  how  it  started  no  man  knows.  Living  in  a  shack 

29 


.3 


il 

*"* 


451     .o 


19* 


Hi 


a 


l 


• 


30 


at  the  corner  of  Jefferson  and  De  Koven  streets,  was  a 
poor  Irish  family  by  the  name  of  O'Leary.  The  story 
commonly  told  is  that  Mrs.  O'Leary  went  out  to  the  barn 
with  a  lamp  to  see  her  cow;  sometimes  the  detail  is 
added  that  she  proposed  to  milk  this  family  pet.  What- 
ever her  intentions,  the  lamp  was  upset  and  cow,  stable 
and  Chicago  were  engulfed  in  one  common  ruin.  One 
veracious  reporter  even  assured  the  world  that  the  cow 
accidentally  kicked  over  the  lamp;  apparently  the  animal 


Landmark  of  Chicago's  advance  to  greatness — Mrs.  O'Leary's 

cottage  on  De  Koven,  between  Jefferson  and  Clinton  Streets, 

the  morning  after  the  regenerative  Great  Fire.     The  historic 

barn  and  everything  to  the  northeast  passed  in  flame. 

Permission    of    Chicago   Historical    Society. 

was  questioned  as  to  her  motives  in  the  brief  interval 
of  time  between  the  fatal  kick  and  her  own  prompt  de- 
mise. Modest  Mrs.  O'Leary,  far  from  coveting  the  honor 
of  starting  the  Chicago  fire,  testified  under  oath  that  she 
was  safe  abed  and  knew  nothing  about  it  until  called  by 
a  friend  of  the  family. 

Once  started,  the  fire  moved  onward  with  resistless 
tread  to  the  north  and  east  until  there  was  nothing  more 
to  burn.  Between  nine  o'clock  on  Sunday  evening  and 

31 


ten-thirty  the  following  night  an  area  of  three  and  one- 
half  square  miles,  including  the  business  section  of  the 
city,  was  burned,  over  17,000  buildings  were  destroyed 
and  100,000  people  rendered  homeless.  From  Taylor 
Street  to  Lincoln  Park,  from  the  river  to  the  lake,  the 
city  lay  in  ruins.  The  direct  loss  of  property  was  about 
$200,000,000.  Of  human  life,  while  never  known,  the 
estimate  is  commonly  about  three  hundred.  The  mass  of 
human  misery,  and  the  indirect  losses  entailed  by  the 
fire  can  never  be  estimated.  Such  was  the  lesson  Chicago 
learned  on  that  October  night  and  day  half  a  century 
ago. 


32 


FIFTY  YEARS  OF  NEW  CHICAGO 


Some  of  the  Acts  of  a  Dauntless  City  Which  Said,  "I  Will," 
and   Did   It 


Mabel  Mcllvaine 

Assistant   Editor   Fort   Dearborn   Magazine 

To  go  ahead  as  if  nothing  had  happened  was  the  one 
thought  of  Chicago  after  the  great  fire  of  1871.  She 
was  aided  in  this  determination  by  the  attitude  of  the 
whole  world  toward  her.  With  one  accord  it  was  agreed 
by  all  the  world  that  Chicago  must  go  on.  Messages 
came  from  Europe,  from  India,  from  China,  from  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  telling  of  substantial  aid 
that  was  on  the  way.  Mayors  all  over  America  pledged 
their  cities  in  amounts  of  tens  of  thousands  to  be  drawn 
at  will.  A  single  merchant  in  New  York,  A.  T.  Stewart, 
placed  $50,000  at  Chicago's  disposal.  The  sentiment 
was  rudely  expressed  by  a  journalist  in  the  East,  W.  H. 
McElroy,  who,  after  confessing  that  the  New  York  papers 
used  to  try  to  take  Chicago  down,  after  the  fire  wrote: 

"But  we  loved  you  in  spite  of  your  many  airs, 

Chicago, 
If  it  wasn't  for  wheat  there  wouldn't  be  tares, 

Chicago, 

And  so  as  we  heard  your  trumpets  blow, 
Loud  as  theirs  at  Jericho, 
We  said — 'Well,  one  thing,  she  isn't  slow! 

Chicago.' 

"And  when  of  your  terrible  trouble  we  learned, 

Chicago, 
How  your  fair  young  beauty  to  ashes  was  turned, 

Chicago, 

The  whole  land  rose  in  its  love  and  might, 
And  swore  to  see  you  through  your  plight, 
And  'Draw  by  the  million  on  us  at  sight, 

Chicago.' " 

Business  men  in  Chicago  received  telegrams  from  the 
men  they  had  dealt  with  in  the  East  and  West,  saying, 
"We  know  that  you  will  need  stock  to  replace  what  has 
been  burned.  Your  credit  is  good.  Order  as  usual." 

33 


And  Chicago  did  order  as  usual.  Without  waiting  to 
know  where  they  were  going  to  put  them,  Chicago  mer- 
chants ordered  stocks  of  goods,  and  hunted  up  places 
to  sell  them  afterwards.  Without  waiting  to  know  what 
was  inside  their  red-hot  safes,  if  anything,  the  bankers 
of  Chicago  met  and  agreed  to  resume  business,  and  then 
when  the  money  in  the  safes  was  found  intact,  they  re- 
sumed payment  on  the  dollar  for  dollar  basis,  one  week 
after  the  most  awful  fire  ever  recorded.  This  action  on 
the  part  of  the  Chicago  banks  gave  the  whole  country 
confidence  as  to  the  ultimate  outcome.  It  is  a  matter  to 
be  noted  that  not  one  of  these  banks  failed  as  a  conse- 
quence of  having  carried  on. 

Board  of  Trade  Kept  Every  Contract 

The  Chicago  Board  of  Trade,  which  might,  under  the 
circumstances,  have  repudiated  its  contracts  formed  be- 
fore the  fire,  voted  as  one  man  to  keep  them,  and  did 
keep  them,  every  one.  It  was  a  member  of  the  Chicago 
Board  of  Trade  who,  in  the  midst  of  the  confusion, 
sought  and  obtained  from  Mayor  R.  B.  Mason  an  order, 
written  on  the  back  of  an  envelope,  to  receive  and  dis- 
tribute the  relief  supplies  which  were  coming  into  Chi- 
cago by  the  carload.  Commandeering  wagons  and  ware- 
houses, he  rushed  these  supplies  to  the  different  divi- 
sions of  the  city  for  the  "first  aid"  to  the  100,000  people 
rendered  homeless  over  night. 

As  soon  as  practicable  this  work  of  distribution  of 
relief  supplies  and  funds  was  taken  over  by  the  Relief 
and  Aid  Society,  the  stanch  old  organization  which  had 
its  rise  in  the  panic  of  '57,  did  valiant  duty  through  the 
Civil  War,  and  was  on  hand  with  the  only  organization 
capable  of  handling  a  proposition  of  such  magnitude  in 
a  systematic  way.  Their  official  records,  deposited  in 
the  Chicago  Historical  Society,  show  that  they  handled 
and  disbursed  no  less  than  $4,996,782.74  worth,  meet- 
ing the  immediate  need.  The  churches  helped  in  all  this, 
gathering  the  frightened  flocks  together,  furnishing  shel- 
ter when  they  had  a  building  left,  or,  like  grand  old 
Robert  Collyer  and  the  congregation  of  Unity  Church, 
meeting  amid  the  ruins,  and  agreeing  to  carry  on,  even 
if  the  church  had  no  funds,  and  the  pastor  had  to  go 
back  to  blacksmithing  to  live. 

34 


The  Congregational  Church  at  the  corner  of  Wash- 
ington and  Ann  Streets  became  the  city  hall  for  the  time 
being,  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  on  Wabash 
Avenue,  the  post  office.  Through  the  heroism  of  a  sub- 
ordinate in  the  old  federal  building  the  mails  had  been 
saved,  and  Chicago  was  spared  the  interruption  which 
their  loss  would  have  occasioned. 

"Undaunted  We  Build"  Said  Kerfoot 

With  lines  and  boundaries  all  but  obliterated,  the  real 
estate  men  were  nevertheless  first  on  the  field,  the  very 
first  structure  to  be  erected  in  the  burnt  district  being 
the  real  estate  office  of  W.  D.  Kerfoot.  Nailed  to  the  side 
of  the  little  slab  shanty  which  he  put  up  in  the  middle  of 
Washington  Street,  because  the  ashes  of  his  former  build- 
ing were  too  hot  behind  that  line,  was  a  shingle  that 
bore  the  slogan:  "All  Gone  but  Wife,  Children  and 
ENERGY." 

Several  of  the  larger  real  estate  concerns  had  copies 
of  the  abstracts  of  titles,  the  originals  of  which  perished 
with  the  courthouse,  and  thus  Chicago  was  saved  the 
unutterable  confusion  of  an  uncharted  city.  Even  with 
the  duplicate  records  filed  at  Washington,  however,  it 
was  often  necessary  to  admit  mere  recollection  in  evi- 
dence in  court  for  years  to  come. 

The  refuse  from  the  ruined  buildings  was  carted  away 
as  rapidly  as  possible  and  dumped  into  the  lagoon  which 
formerly  divided  the  Illinois  Central  tracks  from  the 
shore  opposite  Lake  Front  Park.  How  little  did  the 
people  realize  then  that  they  were  beginning  the  very 
work  which  in  after  years  was  to  be  prosecuted  with 
vigor  in  carrying  out  the  provisions  of  the  city  plan,  by 
which,  literally  on  the  ashes  of  the  old,  was  to  rise  the 
new,  the  city  beautiful! 

As  fast  as  the  foundations  of  buildings  were  uncov- 
ered, their  walls  began  to  be  rebuilt.  As  far  as  feasible 
they  made  them  fireproof.  The  Nixon  building,  the  only 
practically  fireproof  building  in  town  before  the  fire, 
had  stood  the  test.  It  became  the  model.  Fine  fronts  of 
marble  and  even  iron  girders,  unprotected  by  concrete, 
had  melted  like  wax  before  the  blow-pipe  created  by  the 
tremendous  and  self-engendered  blast  of  the  fire.  Concrete 
was  now  used  in  lining  walls  and  covering  iron  work, 

35 


36 


and  soon  experiments  with  steel  resulted  in  the  "Chi- 
cago steel  skeleton  construction,"  known  to  all  the  world 
today.  Chicago  had  thus,  in  less  than  a  century,  pro- 
gressed from  the  palisade  architecture,  used  in  Fort 
Dearborn,  through  the  "balloon  frame"  stage,  the  brick, 
limestone  and  iron  period,  and  arrived  at  the  most  ad- 
vanced form  of  construction  ever  known. 

Battle-scarred  but  Invincible 

Of  course  this  did  not  all  happen  in  an  instant.  For 
immediate  purposes  merchants  were  permitted  to  put  up 
temporary  wooden  structures  on  the  lake  front,  and 
much  frame  building  went  on  in  the  city  at  large. 
Strange  to  say,  the  taste  of  the  people,  all  untamed  by 
the  disaster,  was  for  a  good  deal  of  ornament,  and  to 
this  day  one  comes  upon  houses  in  outlying  districts 
trimmed  with  a  sort  of  wooden  fringe  along  the  eaves, 
or  brandishing  a  gingerbread  tower  and  pinnacles.  They 
are  like  brave  old  banners  to  those  who  understand  all 
that  their  very  existence  meant  in  the  midst  of  the  battle- 
scarred  but  undaunted  city. 

The  feeling  of  Chicago  people  for  their  city  may  be 
partly  understood  when  one  reads  how  they  all  rejoiced 
as  they  heard  that  such  and  such  a  building  was  to  be  re- 
newed. Men  would  meet  each  other  in  the  street  and 
say,  "Have  you  heard  that  the  Palmer  House  is  to  be  re- 
built?" "No!  Let  me  hug  you,  old  man."  Or,  "Did 
you  know  that  the  Grand  Pacific  was  going  up  again?" 
when  perhaps  a  war  dance  would  be  executed.  Each 
business  block  that  shot  up  out  of  its  ashes  was  acclaimed 
like  the  sacred  Phoenix,  and  men  and  women  wept  in 
unspeakable  joy  as  they  saw  their  churches  and  their 
dear  familiar  theatres  lifting  up  their  heads  again.  Field 
&  Leiter,  whose  splendid  new  building  on  State  and 
Washington  had  gone  with  the  rest,  began  to  rebuild  at 
once,  but  meanwhile  started  life  over  again  in  the  car 
barns  at  Twenty-second  Street.  People  might  laugh,  but 
they  liked  the  spirit  of  it  just  the  same,  and  stood  by 
them  until  they  became  what  they  are  today,  exclusively 
under  the  Field  name,  the  greatest  mercantile  establish- 
ment under  one  management  in  the  world.  Indeed,  it 
was  that  very  strength  of  feeling  for  one  another's  pros- 
perity which  knit  together  the  inhabitants  of  Chicago 

37 


into  one  solid  body,  a  corporation,  but  not  without  heart 
and  soul. 

The  "Rookery" 

As  for  the  visible  governing  powers  of  the  city,  they 
were  soon  housed  in  a  building  on  what  was  called  the 
"reservoir  lot"  owned  by  the  city,  at  the  southeast  cor- 
ner of  Adams  and  La  Salle,  completed  and  occupied  by 
January  1,  1872,  and  which  continued  to  do  duty  until 
1885.  Being  a  mere  bird  cage  of  brick,  with  no  orna- 
ment or  convenience,  it  was  nicknamed  the  "Rookery." 
Built  about  the  old  iron  tank  which  had  served  as  a  res- 
ervoir for  the  South  Side  water  works,  it  converted  the 
latter  into  a  storage  place  or  vault,  used  by  the  post 
office  and  other  city  departments  in  common.  It  was  in 
this  tank  that  the  several  thousand  volumes  collected  by 
Thomas  Hughes,  Queen  Victoria  and  other  Britishers 
were  stored  pending  the  opening  of  a  public  library  in 
Chicago,  a  token  of  the  sympathy  and  civilizing  influ- 
ence of  the  English. 

Chicago  was  not  slow  to  take  the  hint.  By  January  1, 
1873,  a  reading  room  was  opened  in  the  city  hall,  ad- 
jacent to  the  tank,  and  by  October  25  Dr.  W.  F.  Poole 
was  appointed  librarian,  and  had  a  circulating  depart- 
ment in  operation  the  following  year. 

Foundations  of   a   Greater  City's   Culture 

Not  that  Chicago  was  without  civilizing  influences 
aside  from  this.  Many  of  her  inhabitants  were  of  rare 
education  and  attainment — such  men  as  William  B. 
Ogden,  Chicago's  first  mayor;  Isaac  N.  Arnold,  friend 
and  counselor  of  Lincoln;  Ezra  B.  McCagg,  entre  to 
whose  drawing  room  was  like  a  title  of  nobility,  and  a 
host  of  others,  whose  private  libraries  and  art  galleries 
were  sources  of  enlightenment.  It  is  doubtful  if  society 
in  Chicago  has  ever  comprised  men  of  more  individual 
"light  and  leading"  than  at  this  time,  not  excluding  the 
coterie  of  brilliant  journalists  and  authors  who  helped 
to  educate  the  public  mind.  The  Chicago  Historical 
Society,  founded  in  1854,  had  a  library,  museum  and  art 
gallery  at  the  time  of  the  fire,  and  began  to  rebuild  and 
re-collect  soon  after.  The  Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences, 
founded  in  1857,  had  specimens  and  a  library  of  great 
significance.  Northwestern  University,  organized  in 

38 


1851,  Chicago  University  in  embryo,  organized  as  a 
Baptist  college  in  1855,  Loyola  University,  chartered  in 
1858,  all  afforded  opportunities  for  higher  culture,  and 
Chicago's  public  schools  were  of  notable  excellence. 

Opera  in  Reconstruction  Days 

Musically,  Chicago  had  already  enjoyed  forty  short 
"seasons"  of  opera  before  the  fire.  The  forty-first  sea- 
son opened  February  12,  1872,  with  Theodore  Wachtel, 
a  German  singer,  in  "Trovatore"  and  "The  Postillion." 
The  performances,  three  in  number,  were  given  in  the 
Globe  Theatre.  The  forty-second  season  took  place  at 
the  Academy  of  Music,  with  Emma  Howson  and  others 
in  "The  Bohemian  Girl,"  etc.,  in  English.  The  next  sea- 
son was  given  at  McVicker's,  with  Pauline  Lucca,  Clara 
Louise  Kellogg  and  other  notables  in  "Mignon,"  "Travi- 
ata,"  "La  Favorita,"  "Faust,"  etc.,  in  Italian.  And  so 
it  went  on — short  "seasons"  but  plenty  of  them,  with 
"Pinafore"  and  our  own  Jessie  Bartlett  to  top  off  with 
in  1879. 

Chicago  people,  while  taking  kindly  to  opera,  were 
not  above  going  to  the  minstrels  in  between,  and  it  is  to 
be  doubted  if  the  so-called  musical  comedy  of  the  hour 
reaches  the  point  of  perfection  in  its  kind  attained  by 
some  of  these  troupes  of  black-cork  artists,  whose  names 
are  individually  remembered  among  our  older  citizens 
to  this  day,  and  whose  melodious  voices  rendered  the 
slave  songs  of  the  late  war,  or  love  ballads  like  "Drink 
to  me  only  with  thine  eyes,"  with  never-to-be-forgotten 
beauty,  interspersed  with  solemn  drollery. 

Thomas  Orchestra  Starts  to  Be  Chicago  Institution 

The  Thomas  Orchestra  was  to  have  performed  in  Chi- 
cago at  Crosby's  Opera  House,  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful buildings  of  its  kind  in  the  country,  on  the  evening 
of  October  10,  1871.  They  were  left  wandering  about 
the  streets  of  the  devastated  city  deshabille.,  having  lost 
their  hotel — the  Sherman  House — as  well  as  their  audi- 
torium. They  had  the  satisfaction,  however,  of  open 
ing  the  first  downtown  music  hall  in  Chicago  after  the 
fire,  Kingsbury  Hall  on  Clark  Street,  opposite  the  Sher- 
man House,  on  the  evening  of  October  6,  1879.  Chi- 
cago culture  was  to  be  credited  with  not  only  discover- 
ing them,  but  with  holding  on  to  them. 

39 


Another  evidence  of  the  cultural  life  of  Chicago  which 
had  its  inception  in  the  seventies  was  the  opening  of  Cen- 
tral Music  Hall,  on  December  4,  1879.  This  building, 
erected  through  the  taste  and  insight  of  George  B.  Car- 
penter, stood  at  the  southeast  corner  of  State  and  Ran- 
dolph Streets,  a  site  now  absorbed  by  the  retail  house 
of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  In  it  was  not  merely  an  excellent 
auditorium,  where  the  Apollo  Club  and  the  Oratorio  So- 
ciety vied  with  each  other  in  concerts  second  to  none  on 
the  continent,  but  there  were  lesser  halls  where  chil- 
dren's classes  were  held,  studios,  and  lecture  rooms  for 
various  arts,  musical  and  otherwise,  constituting  it  a  real 
center  of  culture  and  delight. 

Drama  in  the  Seventies 

Chicago  of  the  seventies  was  even  more  devoted  to 
the  legitimate  drama  than  it  is  now.  McVicker's  Theatre, 
home  of  the  legitimate  from  its  foundation,  was  rebuilt 
immediately  after  the  fire,  and  put  on  a  play  called 
"Time  Works  Wonders,"  by  Jerrold,  with  a  good  stock 
company.  This  stock  company  was  maintained  all  the 
time  at  McVicker's  and  furnished  excellent  support  to 
such  traveling  stars  as  McCullough  and  Booth  in  their 
great  Shakespearean  roles,  or,  in  lighter  mood,  to  Mag- 
gie Mitchell  or  Joe  Jefferson.  On  August  9,  1877,  Sar- 
dou's  "Seraphine"  was  produced  at  McVicker's  for  the 
first  time  in  America,  the  occasion  being  the  twenty-first 
annual  opening  of  the  house.  About  this  time  Hooley's 
Theatre  began  to  go  in  for  the  legitimate  more  than  be- 
fore, putting  on  Shakespeare  with  Booth,  Barrett,  Mc- 
Cullough, and  Jefferson,  Raymond,  Maggie  Mitchell, 
Lotta,  etc.,  in  between.  In  February,  1878,  Sardou's 
"Exiles"  was  running  simultaneously  at  McVicker's  and 
at  Hooley's.  Haverly's  Theatre,  which  stood  at  the  north- 
west corner  of  Monroe  and  Dearborn,  was  beautifully  re- 
decorated in  white  and  gold,  and  had  the  honor  of  in- 
troducing Italian  opera  under  Mapleson,  in  1879. 

Lake   Front    Exposition    Building 

Chicago  was  never  long  content  with  small  things. 
Having  got  her  house  in  order  after  the  fire,  she  was 
restive  to  tell  the  world  about  it,  and  set  about  devising 
a  plan  by  which  she  might  receive  visitors  on  a  large 
scale.  The  result  was  the  great  exposition  building  on 

40 


the  Lake  Front  where  the  Art  Institute  stands  and  ex- 
tending down  to  Jackson  Street,  housing  the  Interstate 
Industrial  Exposition,  which  became  an  annual  affair 
for  years  to  come.  The  building  was  of  Scotch  granite, 
roofed  with  an  elliptical  glass  dome  supported  by  iron 
girders.  Stepping  inside,  one  was  greeted  with  the  roar  of 
a  gigantic  fountain  rising  in  the  center,  the  throb  of  ma- 
chinery and  the  crash  of  bands  playing  while  the  crowd 
surged  around,  a  sea  of  delighted  sight-seers. 

It  was  not  all  sight-seeing,  however.  Merchants,  man- 
ufacturers, agriculturists,  artists,  inventors,  indeed, 
everyone  who  had  anything  to  offer  here  had  the  op- 
portunity. Conducted  at  first  without  charge  to  exhib- 
itors, but  with  an  entrance  fee  of  fifty  cents  (afterwards 
reduced  to  twenty-five) ,  it  did  not  at  first  pay  expenses, 
but  ultimately  became  self-supporting  and  even  profit- 
able. Those  who  organized  it,  public-spirited  men, 
headed  by  Potter  Palmer  as  president,  were  completely 
satisfied  if  it  met  expenses.  It  was  promoting  Chicago. 
In  one  end  of  the  building  was  arranged  the  first  big 
public  exhibition  of  paintings  and  statuary  that  Chicago 
ever  had,  or  the  Middle  West,  for  that  matter.  In  an- 
other section  the  Thomas  orchestra  found  an  auditorium 
large  enough  to  accommodate  the  throngs  who  wanted 
to  attend  their  summer  night  concerts. 

Early   Expositions   Foreshadow   World   Fair 

Before  it  was  removed  to  make  way  for  the  Art  Insti- 
tute, Edgar  Lee  Brown,  of  its  management,  had  proposed 
the  idea  of  a  celebration  of  the  landing  of  Columbus  in 
America,  to  be  held  at  Chicago  in  the  early  nineties. 
Opened  in  October,  1873,  just  two  years  after  the  greatest 
conflagration  known  to  history,  the  old  exposition  was 
at  once  a  demonstration  of  Chicago's  exhaustless  spirit 
and  an  earnest  of  her  ability  to  cope  with  the  World's 
Fair  that  was  to  come. 

Chicago's  social  life  at  the  period  of  the  fire  had  not 
been  invaded  by  the  club  idea  to  any  great  extent.  In 
a  sense  the  city  was  one  big  club — or  perhaps  we  should 
say  three  big  clubs,  North,  South  and  West  Sides,  re- 
spectively, and  no  closer  organizations  were  needed.  It 
was  essentially  a  city  of  homes,  big  double-barreled 
homes,  as  it  were,  where  the  ample  parlors  would  ac- 

41 


commodate  hundreds  at  a  real  "function,"  or  where  a 
few  friends  could  gather  round  the  fireside  in  the  "sitting- 
room"  for  social  intercourse  of  the  more  intimate  sort. 
It  was  the  thing  for  young  ladies  in  those  days  to  play 
the  piano,  and  nearly  every  home  had  its  piano — a  grand 
or  square,  not  an  upright,  which  came  in  with  the  "flat" 
idea — and  many  a  skilled  musician  was  found  among 
these  parlor  performers.  Young  men  were  expected  to 
bear  their  share  of  the  entertaining,  too,  and  played  the 
guitar,  banjo  or  "the  bones,"  even  going  so  far  as  to 
serenade  occasionally.  Most  Chicago  young  people  had 
been  taught  to  dance — at  Bournique's  or  Marline's — the 
waltz,  polka,  galop  and  square  dances,  and  some  were 
even  expert  in  "fancy  dancing."  Balls  were  of  frequent 
occurrence,  interspersed  with  theatre  parties,  after  which 
it  was  customary  to  have  supper  at  Kinsley's — oysters, 
frogs'  legs,  chicken  salad  and  pate  de  fois  gras,  etc. 

Big  Men  Found  Chicago  Club 

Men  folk  entertained  one  another  from  time  to  time 
with  game  dinners  at  the  Grand  Pacific — the  Drake  Hotel 
of  its  day — or  at  the  Palmer,  the  Sherman,  or  the  Tre- 
mont  houses,  glorying  in  the  frescoed  ceilings,  the  Brus- 
sels carpets  and  the  excellent  fare.  Out  of  such  enter- 
taining as  this  and  the  desire  for  more  metropolitan  life 
grew  the  Chicago  Club,  the  pioneer  club  of  the  West,  and 
for  many  years  the  only  social  club  in  Chicago.  Its 
membership  of  one  hundred  included  such  names  as  B. 
F.  Ayer,  Charles  J.  Barnes.  T.  B.  Blackstone,  A.  H. 
Burley,  John  Crerar,  John  De  Koven,  John  B.  Drake, 
N.  K.  Fairbank,  C.  B.  Farwell,  Marshall  Field,  Robert 
T.  Lincoln,  E.  B.  McCagg,  S.  M.  Nickerson,  George  M. 
Pullman,  J.  Y.  Scammon,  Perry  H.  Smith,  Lambert  Tree, 
Emory  Washburne,  Jr.,  and  others  of  equal  prominence 
socially  and  financially.  A  clubhouse  where  De  Jonghe's 
restaurant  now  stands  was  ultimately  attained,  and  there 
the  younger  members  had  their  first  taste  of  what  at  that 
time  was  considered  really  "high  life." 

The  Chicago  Yacht  Club  was  organized  in  July,  1870, 
the  Farragut  Boat  Club  in  March,  1872,  the  Chicago 
Cricket  Club  in  May,  1876,  and  the  Bicycle  Club  in  1879. 

As  for  the  national  game,  Chicago  was  represented  at 
the  meeting  of  the  National  Professional  Baseball  Asso- 

42 


elation  in  New  York  City  on  March  17,  1871,  by  the 
"White  Stockings,"  otherwise  known  as  the  Chicago  Club, 
which  by  1876  became  the  champion  club.  The  home 
grounds  of  the  club  at  that  time  were  located  near  the 
corner  of  State  and  Twenty-third  Streets,  and  by  1877 
the  City  Council  had  granted  the  club  a  lease  of  the  lake 
front  between  Washington  and  Randolph  Streets. 

Municipal  Reorganization 

Out  of  the  unusual  conditions  created  by  the  fire,  mak- 
ing necessary  the  repair  or  replacement  of  almost  all 
public  works,  such  as  street  pavements,  sidewalks,  lamp 
posts,  waterworks,  sewage  systems,  bridges,  etc.,  besides 
the  undertaking  of  new  enterprises,  such  as  the  boring 
of  more  tunnels,  the  extension  of  horse  car  lines,  etc., 
came  the  general  consciousness  that  a  change  in  the 
very  fabric  of  the  body  politic  was  necessary.  The  re- 
sult was  the  reorganization  of  the  city  under  the  general 
incorporation  act  of  April,  1875.  By  this  Chicago's 
rural  government  by  legislative  enactment,  suitable  for 
a  small  town,  gave  place  to  a  more  metropolitan  system, 
with  more  power  vested  in  the  common  council.  In 
1876  the  board  of  public  works  was  abolished  and  the 
single  commissioner  system  instituted,  the  mayor  him- 
self holding  that  office  temporarily  until  a  regular  com- 
missioner was  appointed  in  May,  1879. 

Civic  Bodies  and  Press 

Such  changes  are  not  effected  without  the  action  of  or- 
ganized civic  bodies,  and  chief  among  these  were  the 
Citizens'  Association — now  the  oldest  civic  reform  or- 
ganization in  America — which  came  into  being  July  24, 
1874,  "to  insure  a  more  perfect  administration  in  our 
municipal  affairs,"  and  the  Commercial  Club,  organized 
on  December  27,  1877,  by  the  city's  most  prominent  and 
public-spirited  business  men,  and  whose  force  in  the 
affairs  of  the  city  it  is  impossible  to  overestimate. 

The  newspapers — the  fourth  estate  of  the  period — 
were  the  Journal,  founded  in  1844  and  never  missing  an 
issue,  not  even  that  of  October  9,  1871;  the  Tribune, 
founded  in  1847,  and  the  bulwark  of  Republicanism; 
the  Times,  founded  in  1854,  and  with  democratic  pro- 
clivities; the  Inter  Ocean,  founded  in  1872  by  J.  Y. 
Scammon;  the  News,  first  issued  on  Christmas  day,  1875, 

43 


with  the  present  head  of  the  Associated  Press  as  its  ed- 
itor, Melville  E.  Stone,  and  Eugene  Field  on  its  staff  of 
poets. 

The  morale  of  the  people  after  the  fire,  as  well  as  in 
some  cases  their  actual  physical  well-being,  was  in  great 
part  sustained  by  the  active  and  whole-hearted  work  of  the 
churches.  Among  clergymen  of  the  period  whose  names 
stand  out  prominently  are  the  Rev.  Robert  Collyer,  of 
Unity  Church;  Rev.  E.  P.  Goodwin,  of  the  First  Con- 
gregational Church;  Rev.  William  Everts,  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church;  Dwight  L.  Moody,  of  the  Chicago  Ave- 
nue Church;  David  Swing,  of  the  Fourth  Presbyterian, 
later  of  Central  Church;  Bishop  Charles  E.  Cheney,  of 


Home    of   Carter    H.    Harrison,    Sr.,    many    times    mayor    of 
Chicago,  on  Ashland  Boulevard. 

Christ  Church;  Bishop  Whitehouse,  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  and  Bishop  Thomas  Foley,  Roman 
Catholic  administrator  of  the  diocese  of  Chicago. 

How  the  "I  Will"  Spirit  Was  Born 

All  these  agencies  pulling  together  as  never  before 
accomplished  what  to  the  ordinary  mood  of  mankind 
would  have  appeared  impossible,  the  resurrection  of  a 
city  from  what  seemed  to  be  annihilation.  By  the  suf- 
ferings which  these  people  who  passed  through  the  fire 

44 


endured  together,  they  were  welded  into  one  body,  one 
mind  and  one  spirit,  and  Chicago  of  today  is  a  demon- 
stration of  what  such  unity  can  accomplish. 

Electricity  and  Sanitation  in  the  Eighties 

Events  touching  every  interest  in  Chicago  in  the 
eighties  were  the  introduction  of  electricity  in  the  form 
of  light  and  telephone  service,  and  the  organization  of 
the  Sanitary  District,  looking  to  the  purification  of  the 
city's  water  supply  by  way  of  the  drainage  canal. 

The  first  electric  lights  in  Chicago  were  seen  in  1880, 
a  50-light  dynamo  having  been  installed  in  the  base- 
ment of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  building, 
whence  by  June  1  light  was  going  forth  to  at  least  forty 
lamps — all  under  the  patents  of  the  wizard  Edison.  The 
first  theatre  in  the  world  to  use  incandescent  lamps  was 
the  Academy  of  Music  on  Halsted  Street,  Chicago.  The 
first  theatre  to  be  completed  lighted  with  electricity  was 
the  old  Haverly  Theatre  on  Monroe  Street.  That  Chi- 
cago people  rose  to  the  occasion  was  shown  when  on  the 
first  night,  just  as  the  curtain  rose,  all  the  lights  were 
turned  on.  As  one  man  they  sprang  to  their  feet  and 
applauded  for  fully  fifteen  minutes.  By  1885  the  court- 
house and  city  hall  had  electric  plants  of  their  own ;  on  the 
evening  of  December  31  the  new  Board  of  Trade  building 
bloomed  out  with  a  corona  of  lights  at  the  crest  of  its 
300-foot  tower,  and  in  a  few  years  they  were  in  general 
use  throughout  the  city.  Telephones  had  been  in  the 
wind  since  1878  when  the  Bell  and  Edison  systems  be- 
gan to  operate  in  Chicago,  but  it  was  in  April,  1881,  that 
the  Chicago  Telephone  Company  bought  out  the  Bell 
Company  of  Illinois  and  the  American  District  Telegraph 
Company,  consolidating  the  Bell  and  Edison  systems, 
and  giving  the  city  practical  service.  Such  utilities  can 
only  be  appreciated  by  imagining  their  absence  for  a 
single  twenty-four  hours. 

The  fact  that  Lake  Michigan  is  the  source  of  water 
supply  for  the  city,  and  that  prior  to  the  eighties  it  had 
also  been  the  place  of  sewage  disposal,  makes  apparent 
the  need  that  led  to  the  organization  of  the  Sanitary 
District  under  the  acts  of  June  6,  1887,  and  May  29, 
1889.  Attempts  to  divert  the  course  of  the  current  in  the 
Chicago  River  and  its  branches  had  been  made  early  in 

45 


the  eighties  and  before  that,  by  means  of  powerful  pump- 
ing stations  within  the  city  limits.  Chicago  was  now 
empowered  to  go  beyond  its  borders,  cut  through  the 
rocky  stratum  separating  the  Lakes  from  the  Mississippi 
water  systems,  and  purify  her  own  water  supply. 

The  year  1880  was  a  record  year  for  Chicago  in  the 
development  of  commerce,  not  only  throughout  the 
Northwest,  but  in  the  direction  of  foreign  trade.  Corn 
receipts  increased  50  per  cent  over  the  previous  year, 
while  oats  and  barley  were  larger  than  ever  before.  The 
value  of  cattle  and  hogs  was  greater  than  in  any  previous 
year  of  Chicago's  history.  Foreign  tonnage  entered  at 
seaports  of  the  United  States  had  increased  from  1,608.- 
291  tons  in  1860  to  12,112,160  tons  in  1880.  Chicago, 
doing  her  share  towards  taking  care  of  this  trade  with 
Europe,  had  meanwhile  acquired  two  new  carriers,  the 
Grand  Trunk  Railway  in  February,  and  the  Wabash,  St. 
Louis  &  Pacific  in  August.  The  Chicago  &  Atlantic  Rail- 
road was  opened  in  1883,  and  with  its  connection,  the 
New  York,  Lake  Erie  &  Western,  formed  a  direct  line  to 
the  seaboard. 

Foundations  of  the  Great  Central  Market 

In  addition  to  the  enormous  growth  of  the  packing 
industry  of  Chicago,  there  was  development  along  cog- 
nate lines,  and  the  estimated  value  of  wool  and  hides 
handled  in  Chicago  for  the  year  1885  was  $25,000,000. 
The  total  value  of  raw  furs  brought  to  Chicago  about 
this  time  was  between  one  and  two  millions  of  dollars 
annually. 

A  notable  feature  of  the  grocery  trade  in  Chicago  has 
always  been  the  direct  importations  of  teas  and  coffees. 
Among  the  more  prominent  grocers  who  developed  in 
the  seventies  and  eighties  in  Chicago  establishments  of 
national  note  were  Franklin  MacVeagh  &  Co.,  Reid,  Mur- 
doch &  Fischer,  H.  C.  Durand  &  Co.,  Corbin,  May  &  Co., 
Sprague,  Warner  &  Co.,  Merriam,  Collins  &  Co.,  John  A. 
Tolman  &  Co.,  W.  M.  Hoyt,  Henry  Horner  &  Co.,  and 
Dean  Brothers  &  Lincoln. 

The  lumber  industry,  already  the  largest  in  the  coun- 
try, in  1881  added  another  district  to  the  South  Branch 
of  the  river,  extending  from  35th  Street  to  the  Stock 
Yards,  and  by  1884  a  number  of  firms  were  obliged  to 

46 


move  to  South  Chicago  to  secure  space,  while  the  North 
Branch  was  already  being  invaded  by  the  retail  trade. 
At  that  time  there  were  about  500  steamers  and  sailing 
vessels  employed  in  the  lumber  traffic  in  Chicago,  and 
30,000  railroad  cars,  the  total  value  of  the  products  re- 
ceived being  about  $50,000,000. 

By  1885  Chicago  had  become  the  recognized  center 
of  the  clothing  industry,  both  as  to  manufacture  and  dis- 
tribution. The  total  sales  for  that  year  aggregated  $20,- 
000,000. 

Masterful  Advance  of  Great  Industries 

By  the  middle  of  the  eighties  Chicago  had  already 
taken  her  place  as  leading  the  world  in  the  manufacture 
and  distribution  of  furniture.  In  1870  she  made  about 
half  as  much  furniture  as  Cincinnati,  one-third  as  much 
as  Boston  and  Philadelphia,  and  one-sixth  as  much  as 
New  York.  By  1880  she  distanced  all  the  others  except 
New  York,  but  by  1885  she  had  beaten  New  York  both 
in  number  of  employes  and  amount  of  annual  product. 
In  parlor  furniture  her  sales  equalled  those  of  New  York, 
Boston  and  Cincinnati  combined. 

Refrigerating  cars  came  into  use  in  Chicago  in  the 
early  eighties,  there  being  two  concerns  operating  them 
on  the  basis  of  a  percentage  of  the  earnings  of  the  rail- 
ways using  them,  plus  a  royalty.  By  means  of  these  cars 
fresh  fruit  from  the  South  appeared  on  Chicago  tables, 
and  the  people  in  Boston  began  to  eat  fresh  beef  which 
might  have  been  shipped  from  Cheyenne. 

Pullman  Cars 

The  increase  of  transportation  by  means  of  the  seven- 
teen railroads  entering  Chicago  had  had  the  effect  of 
greatly  widening  her  borders,  through  the  growth  of 
suburbs,  encouraged  by  the  railroads  issuing  commuta- 
tion tickets. 

Pullman  palace  cars,  Chicago's  contribution  to  the 
comfort  of  the  traveling  world,  began  to  be  made  in  the 
town  of  Pullman — the  $5,000,000  village  on  the  out- 
skirts of  Chicago,  created  by  George  M.  Pullman  for  the 
centralization  of  his  manufacturing  work,  and  in  the 
hope  of  dispelling  dissatisfaction  of  employes  through 
advantageous  surroundings.  A  commentary  on  this  is 

47 


that  the  work  went  on  apace,  but  for  some  reason  the 
employes  did  not  seem  to  like  to  live  in  the  company 
houses — perhaps  because  they  were  too  uniform  in  ap- 
pearance. Within  recent  years  Pullman  has  been  an- 
nexed to  Chicago,  with  all  city  privileges.  An  important 
experiment  in  the  segregation  of  workmen  and  their 
families  has  been  tried  there,  and  manufacturers  of  to- 
day are  putting  into  practice  the  lessons  learned.  One 
of  the  results  is  the  study  to  afford  as  much  variety  in 
appearance  in  the  houses  as  would  obtain  in  any  aver- 
age village. 

Chicago  as  Steel  and  Iron  Center 

Chicago's  position  between  the  ore  beds  of  Northern 
Michigan  and  the  coal  fields  of  Pennsylvania  and  Illi- 
nois made  her  a  natural  center  for  the  manufacture  of 
railroad  rails  and  other  iron  products  necessary  to  the 
development  of  the  Northwest.  While  the  North  Chicago 
rolling  mills  were  established  in  1857,  the  South  Chicago 
mills  were  of  the  seventies  and  eighties.  The  year  1881 
was  especially  prosperous  in  the  iron  industry.  The 
rolling  mills  found  it  necessary  to  run  at  full  capacity 
and  four  new  blast  furnaces  were  built  at  South  Chicago. 
The  number  of  establishments  engaged  in  the  business 
for  1881  was  202;  employes,  11,359;  capital,  $10,752,- 
000,  and  value  of  products  $33,343,000.  While  this  does 
not  seem  a  very  huge  total  according  to  present  day 
standards,  still  it  brought  Illinois  up  from  fifteenth  place 
in  the  manufacture  of  steel  and  iron  to  fourth  place  at 
that  time.  The  location  of  the  Pullman  works  on  Calu- 
met Lake  and  the  rolling  mills  at  South  Chicago,  with 
the  later  development  of  the  steel  works  at  Gary,  have 
had  a  strong  influence  on  men's  minds  with  regard  to  the 
ultimate  location  of  Chicago's  main  harbor. 

Farm  Machinery  Center 

Cyrus  Hall  McCormick  died  in  Chicago  on  May  13, 
1884,  having  established  the  great  business  of  manufac- 
turing reapers  in  Chicago  on  a  basis  so  broad  and  firm 
that  it  led  ultimately  to  the  organization  of  the  Interna- 
tional Harvester  Company  and  made  Chicago  the  world's 
center  for  the  manufacture  of  agricultural  machinery. 
The  removal  of  the  McCormick  factory  from  the  main 

48 


river  to  a  point  on  the  North  Branch  had  the  effect  of 
drawing  away  a  good  many  big  enterprises  from  the 
mouth  of  the  river  to  a  zone  where  they  could  obtain 
more  space. 

An  industry  which  has  almost  passed  out  of  existence 
all  over  the  land,  but  which  in  Chicago  of  the  eighties 
flourished  like  a  green  bay  tree,  was  the  brewing  business. 
By  1885  there  were  thirty-three  breweries  in  Chicago  and 
twenty  private  malt-houses.  The  brewing  interest  had 
more  than  doubled  in  fourteen  years  and  Chicago  ranked 
high  as  a  beer-producing  center  in  the  United  States. 
The  annual  production  in  the  middle  eighties  was  800,- 
000  barrels  and  required  over  5,000,000  bushels  of  malt, 
over  4,000,000  bushels  of  barley  and  1,600,000  pounds 
of  hops. 

Substance  and  Elegance  in  Building 

On  the  physical  side  vast  changes  took  place  in  Chi- 
cago of  the  eighties.  From  the  age  of  framework  and 
marble  fronts,  the  city  passed  to  the  age  of  brick,  gran- 
ite and  brownstone.  All  down  Michigan,  Prairie  and 
Calumet  Avenues  on  the  South  Side,  out  Ashland  and 
Washington  Boulevards  on  the  West  Side,  and  up  Dear- 
born Avenue  and  North  State  and  Rush  Streets  on  the 
North  Side  appeared  palaces,  usually  with  bulging  fronts 
and  a  round  tower  at  the  corner,  and  finished  inside  with 
the  most  massive  of  woodwork.  Very  elegant  were  these 
homes  as  to  their  fittings,  for  Chicagoans  had  many  of 
them  been  abroad,  and  paintings,  statuary  and  Aubusson 
rugs  were  the  order  of  the  day.  Occasionally  an  East- 
lake  house,  or  row  of  houses  would  appear,  usually  built 
of  brick,  with  insertions  of  colored  tile  and  stained  glass 
windows.  The  flat  geometrical  ornament  of  the  Eastlake 
fashion  is  connected  in  the  minds  of  a  great  many  Chi- 
cago people  with  the  visit  of  Oscar  Wilde,  with  his  sun- 
flowers, for  the  main  motif  of  the  Eastlake  ornament 
seems  to  be  the  sunflower — or  perhaps  it  is  intended  for 
a  daisy.  A  striking  example  of  the  Eastlake  style  was 
the  George  E.  Adams  homestead,  at  Belden  Avenue  and 
North  Clark  Street,  where  the  whole  interior  was  one 
unified  textbook  of  the  Eastlake  manner,  even  to  the 
furniture  of  the  bedrooms,  built  in,  because  nothing 
Eastlake  enough  could  be  procured,  presumably. 

49 


Many  clubhouses  were  built  during  this  epoch,  includ- 
ing the  Calumet  Club,  on  Michigan  Avenue  and  Twen- 
tieth Street,  opened  April  21,  1883;  the  Union  League 
Club  house,  opened  in  May,  1886,  at  Jackson  Street  and 
Third  Avenue;  the  Union  Club,  opened  in  December, 
1883,  at  Dearborn  Avenue  and  Delaware  Place,  etc. 

The  removal  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  from  Wash- 
ington to  Jackson  Street  occasioned  a  great  deal  of  build- 
ing in  that  vicinity.  The  new  Board  of  Trade  building 
was  completed  in  1885,  and  was  thought  at  the  time  to 
"defy  competition."  Not  far  from  it  on  Adams  Street 
stood  the  "purely  Moorish"  structure  erected  by  Kins- 
ley, the  caterer.  On  Michigan  Avenue  was  erected  the 
Richelieu  Hotel.  Fireproofing,  advanced  by  the  use  of 
construction  steel,  began  to  result  in  "skyscrapers"  and 
at  the  same  time  in  a  style  of  architecture  in  which  some 
attention  was  paid  to  what  the  architects  call  "function" 
in  deciding  upon  "form."  The  Marshall  Field  wholesale 
house  on  Adams  Street  may  be  taken  as  typical  of  the 
change  which  was  coming  over  Chicago  in  point  of  archi- 
tecture. Only  a  warehouse,  essentially,  and  without 
meretricious  ornament,  so  grandly  have  the  masses  and 
proportions  of  the  building  been  handled  as  to  suggest 
in  some  sort  the  weight  and  import  of  the  great  business 
which  it  houses.  H.  H.  Richardson  of  Boston  was  the 
architect  of  the  Marshall  Field  wholesale  building,  but 
our  own  Adler  and  Sullivan  were  the  architects  of  the 
Auditorium,  built  in  1889,  including  under  one  roof  an 
hotel  and  a  theatre,  massive  as  the  Pitti  Palace,  and  ex- 
pressing as  no  building  had  done  before  the  tremendous 
power  of  the  young  democracy  by  the  lake.  From  this 
point  on,  it  may  be  said  that  Chicago  architecture  had 
"arrived."  Men  no  longer  built  buildings  and  tacked 
on  the  ornament  afterward.  The  relation  of  form  to 
function  was  observed,  and  the  "Chicago  School,"  headed 
by  Louis  Sullivan,  discovered  how  to  make  even  "sky- 
scrapers" dignified,  and,  in  relating  dwelling  houses 
to  landscape,  learned  to  apply  the  principle,  for  this 
prairie  country,  of  the  horizontal  line. 

Origin  of  Lake  Shore  Drive 

Along  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighties  there  arose  a 
movement  to  make  land  east  of  Pine  Street  for  building 

50 


purposes,  and  out  of  this  grew  the  famous  Lake  Shore 
Drive.  A  pioneer  in  this  movement  was  Potter  Palmer, 
who,  contrary  to  all  precedent,  dared  the  "inclement 
blasts"  of  the  east  wind  and  built  a  castle  on  the  new 
extension  in  what  was  then  an  uninhabited  waste.  Tall 
trees  and  clinging  vines  now  cluster  round  that  castle, 
which  has  an  ancient  air,  and  is  about  to  be  opened  with 
ceremony  by  the  second  generation  of  Potter  Palmers. 
The  beautiful  drive — one  of  the  most  superb  in  the  world 
— sweeps  by  it,  and  neighboring  castles  have  come  to  its 
support,  but  already  there  is  talk  and  more  than  talk, 
of  "doing  away  with  all  that  mediaeval  grandeur"  in 
favor  of  flat  buildings,  shops,  and  huge  hotels.  We 
could  curb  the  lake  which  used  to  tear  away  the  Lake 
Shore  Drive  at  intervals,  but  it  would  seem  that  we  can- 
not curb  the  mighty  city,  surging  forward  from  the  river, 
unless  it  be  by  a  magic  moat  thrown  around  our  castles 
by  the  zoning  system. 

Great  Political  Conventions  Center  Here 

In  the  matter  of  elections,  Chicago  began  to  play  a  dis- 
tinguished part  in  the  eighties,  becoming  the  city  for 
conventions  of  the  great  national  parties.  Beginning  with 
1880  more  than  a  score  of  such  conventions  have  been 
held  here — some  of  them  the  most  momentous  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  country.  At  least  six  of  the  men  nominated 
have  been  elected — Garfield  in  1880,  Cleveland  in  1884 
and  1892,  Harrison  in  1888,  Roosevelt  in  1904,  Taft  in 
1908  and  Harding  in  1920. 

Meanwhile,  within  the  city  government  was  instituted 
what  might  be  called  a  royal  Democratic  dynasty.  Be- 
ginning with  1879-80,  and  continuing  for  five  successive 
elections,  the  mayor  of  Chicago  was  Carter  H.  Harrison, 
who  was  mayor  again  at  the  time  of  the  World's  Fair, 
when  at  the  height  of  his  glory — and  of  the  city's  tri- 
umph— he  was  struck  down  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin 
in  his  own  hospitable  home.  His  son,  Carter  H.  Harri- 
son, Junior,  not  long  after  succeeded  him  for  an  almost 
equally  long  term  of  office. 

Political   Impurities 

Way  back  in  the  seventies  the  city  and  county  had  ad- 
vertised for  plans  for  a  new  city  hall  and  court  house, 

51 


and  in  the  year  1885  they  were  ready  for  occupancy,  hav- 
ing cost  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  $5,000,000. 

Some  notable  trials  which  took  place  in  the  eighties 
are  typical  of  the  struggle  which  the  city,  and,  in  fact, 
the  country,  were  passing  through.  In  1884  occurred 
the  trial  of  Joseph  C.  Mackin  for  perjury  in  connection 
with  alleged  spurious  tickets  with  the  name  of  a  Repub- 
lican candidate  upon  them  in  the  state  election.  The 
case  was  tried  before  Judge  Moran,  with  Emery  A.  Storrs 
attorney  for  the  defendant,  and  J.  S.  Grinnell,  Israel  N. 
Stiles  and  Joel  M.  Longnecker  for  the  state.  Mackin  was 
adjudged  guilty  and  sent  to  Joliet.  In  1887  began  the 
"omnibus  boodle"  trial,  resulting  in  the  conviction  of 
"McGarigle  et  al."  on  June  29th,  and  dragging  Chicago's 
name  in  the  dust. 

When  Chicago  Throttled  Anarchy 

Out  of  a  strike  in  the  McCormick  reaper  works  arose  a 
disturbance  in  1886  among  the  "international  anarchists" 
of  Chicago,  who  were  organized  into  groups  and  very 
active.  They  were  advocating  a  "general  strike"  for  an 
eight-hour  day,  and  stirred  up  an  intense  excitement 
among  the  workmen  of  the  city,  leading  to  ultra- 
anarchistic  utterances.  A  riot  occurred  on  the  third  of 
May  at  the  McCormick  works,  and  an  anarchist  meeting 
was  called  for  next  day  in  Haymarket  Square  in  Ran- 
dolph Street.  When  it  was  judged  that  the  speeches  were 
too  revolutionary  to  be  allowed  to  continue,  the  police 
were  called  upon  to  disperse  the  meeting.  A  bomb  was 
thrown  and  many  policemen  were  injured,  seven  fatally. 
In  the  trial  which  followed  before  Judge  Joseph  E.  Gary, 
no  one  person  could  be  identified  as  the  one  who  threw 
the  bomb,  but  on  the  ground  that  they  were  morally  con- 
spirators and  accomplices  in  the  killing,  seven  of  the 
anarchists  were  condemned  to  death.  Four  were  hanged, 
August  Spies,  Albert  Parsons,  Gus  Engel  and  Adolph 
Fischer.  Fielden  and  Schwab  had  their  sentences  com- 
muted to  life  imprisonment,  but  one,  Louis  Lingg,  com- 
mitted suicide  by  exploding  a  dynamite  bomb  in  his 
mouth.  By  the  anarchist  trial,  in  which  Judge  Gary's 
decision  was  sustained  by  the  supreme  court  of  the  United 
States,  it  is  considered  that  certain  principles  of  law  have 
been  established  reaffirming  the  very  foundations  of  our 

52 


body  politic,  and  forever  protecting  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States  from  the  invasion  of  foreign  anarchistic 
propaganda  leading  to  deeds  of  violence. 

Strong  Men  Move  for  Political  Reform 

The  constant  repetition  of  election  frauds  brought 
about  a  non-partisan  movement  in  favor  of  a  new  elec- 
tion law  that  would  have  the  effect  of  preventing  such 
frauds.  The  movement  was  headed  by  Marshall  Field,  A. 
A.  Carpenter,  M.  E.  Stone,  I.  N.  Stiles,  S.  Corning  Judd, 
A.  F.  Seeberger,  John  A.  King  and  others.  A  bill  known 
as  the  "citizens'  election  bill"  was  submitted  to  the  legis- 
lature and  passed.  On  being  submitted  to  the  people  it 
received  a  majority  in  every  ward  of  the  city,  and  elec- 
tion commissioners  were  appointed.  The  first  election 
held  under  the  provisions  of  the  new  law  was  the  town 
and  aldermanic  one  of  April,  1886.  During  this  period 
the  Citizens'  Association  was  active  in  the  fight  for  civil 
service  reform,  and  finally  organized  and  launched  the 
Civil  Service  Reform  Association.  They  also  carried  on 
a  persistent  educational  campaign  for  a  constitutional 
convention  in  Illinois  looking  to  tax  consolidation. 

First  Cable  Train 

On  January  17,  1881,  the  city  council  granted  the  Chi- 
cago City  Railway  Company  the  right  to  operate  a  line 
of  cable  cars  in  Chicago,  and  by  January,  1882,  the  State 
Street  line  to  Twenty-ninth  Street  was  ready  for  use.  On 
the  28th  of  the  month,  with  a  great  deal  of  ceremony,  the 
first  public  trial  took  place,  Mayor  Harrison,  Superin- 
tendent Holmes,  Judge  Caton,  Silas  Cobb,  William  Bross 
and  others  of  "the  early  day"  making  speeches.  The 
Wabash  and  Cottage  Grove  line  was  constructed  next, 
and  by  the  close  of  the  first  year  it  was  estimated  that 
6,000,000  more  people  had  been  transported  than  by  the 
previous  system  of  horse  cars.  The  speed  made  was 
something  less  than  ten  miles  an  hour.  The  cable,  which 
was  adapted  from  the  San  Francisco  system,  was  an  end- 
less steel  rope  running  in  a  slot  under  the  street  so  that 
it  could  be  "gripped"  by  the  cars,  which  were  thus  pro- 
pelled along,  the  power  being  furnished  by  stationary 
engines  in  the  plant.  Ultimately  the  North  and  West 
Sides  were  all  fitted  out  with  cables,  and  if  any  inhabitant 

53 


of  Chicago  of  the  eighties  happened  to  return  to  this 
region  and  did  not  hear  the  rattle  of  the  cable  in  its  slot, 
he  would  think  that  the  world  had  come  to  an  end. 

The  cable  itself  was  not  so  bad,  although  it  did  hitch 
along  a  bit  and  break  occasionally,  especially  in  icy 
weather,  but  the  squabbles  into  which  Chicago  was 
thrown  over  the  franchises,  particularly  the  attempt  of 
the  companies  under  leadership  of  Charles  T.  Yerkes  to 
secure  a  ninety-nine  year  extension,  threw  the  people  into 
bitter  conflict  with  the  authorities,  and  led  in  the  next 


Hull   House,   world's   largest   social   settlement. 

decade  to  the  formation  of  the  Municipal  Voters'  League 
and  the  Committee  of  One  Hundred. 

When  the  Horse  Still  Was  King 

The  favorite  equipage  in  Chicago  of  the  eighties  was 
a  four-in-hand,  or,  failing  that,  a  tandem  cart.  "Charlie" 
Schwartz,  Valentine  Dickey,  Hall  McCormick,  Potter 
Palmer,  Chatfield  Taylor  and  later  Arthur  Caton  pos- 
sessed these  first  bewildering  vehicles,  and  used  to  aston- 
ish the  eyes  of  their  fellow  citizens  and  assail  their  ears 

54 


as  well  with  the  winding  horn  which  heralded  their  ap- 
proach. Fast  trotting  was  in  vogue  on  the  boulevards, 
and  all  roads  led  to  Washington  Park  on  Derby  Day. 
Ladies  rather  favored  the  stanhope-phaeton,  and  at  "the 
hour"  the  avenue  and  the  Lake  Shore  Drive  were  gay 
with  pretty  parasols  and  beautiful  costumes — a  custom 
which  the  rapid-transit  auto  has  rather  sadly  displaced. 

The  West  Division  High  School  was  built  in  1880,  the 
North  Division  in  1883  and  the  South  Division  in  1884. 
Prior  to  that  all  three  sides  of  the  city  had  united  in  one 
high  school.  Evening  schools  developed  rapidly  in  the 
eighties.  An  educational  event  of  surpassing  importance 
to  Chicago  was  the  opening  of  the  Chicago  Manual  Train- 
ing School  on  Michigan  Avenue  and  Twelfth  Street  in 
1884,  through  the  insight  and  generosity  of  the  Com- 
mercial Club  of  Chicago.  In  1886  the  old  University  of 
Chicago,  founded  in  1858  on  land  contributed  by  Stephen 
A.  Douglas  at  Thirty-fourth  Street  and  Cottage  Grove 
Avenue,  had  to  turn  its  property  over  to  its  creditors.  Im- 
mediately plans  for  a  collegiate  foundation  were  insti- 
tuted by  T.  W.  Goodspeed  and  others,  with  the  result  that 
John  D.  Rockefeller,  who  was  debating  a  choice  between 
New  York  and  Chicago  as  a  site  for  a  college  to  be  en- 
dowed by  him,  chose  Chicago  and  subscribed  $600,000  to 
that  end.  Chicago  raised  the  remainder  of  the  amount 
needed  at  the  outset,  and  by  1891  William  Rainey  Harper 
was  elected  president,  and  the  great  enterprise  was 
launched,  on  an  unprecedented  scale,  with  such  foresight 
as  to  make  the  University  of  Chicago  known  throughout 
the  civilized  world  today. 

The  Founding  of  Hull  House 

In  the  year  1889,  in  a  long-neglected  old  family  man- 
sion on  South  Halsted  Street,  two  women  came  to  take 
up  their  residence — Miss  Jane  Addams  and  Miss  Ellen 
Gates  Starr.  They  had  been  traveling  abroad,  engaged  in 
sociological  and  economic  investigation  for  some  years, 
visiting  among  other  European  institutions  Toynbee  Hall, 
in  London,  and  many  experimental  foundations  in  Ger- 
many looking  to  popular  benefit.  Hull  House — the 
former  home  of  one  of  Chicago's  early  citizens  by  the 
name  of  Hull — was  in  the  very  heart  of  the  cosmopoli- 
tan population  which  Chicago's  great  industries  had  been 

55 


drawing  from  foreign  shores.  Furnishing  the  house  ex- 
actly as  they  would  have  done  in  a  so-called  residential 
district,  with  all  the  enrichment  of  pictures,  collected  in 
their  travels,  and  quiet  but  harmonious  furniture  and 
rugs,  these  women  proceeded  to  get  acquainted  with  their 
neighbors.  Immediately  needs,  spiritual  and  physical, 
began  to  be  made  known.  The  effort  to  supply  these 
needs,  to  safeguard  the  bodies  and  to  feed  the  minds  of 
those  with  whom  they  came  in  contact  has  resulted  in 
the  great  educational  and  industrial  and  social  institution 
known  as  Hull  House,  whose  influence  extends  today  in 
ever-widening  circles  to  include  all  mankind. 

Liberal  Religious  Forums  of  Swing  and  Thomas 

Striking  examples  of  departure  from  routine  in  mat- 
ters religious  which  flourished  in  Chicago  of  the  eighties 
were  Central  Church  of  Chicago,  founded  by  Rev.,  or,  as 
he  was  called,  "Professor"  David  Swing,  and  the  People's 
Church,  organized  to  hold  up  the  hands  of  the  Rev.  H.  W. 
Thomas.  The  former  church  arose  during  the  seventies 
because  of  doctrinal  differences  between  the  pastor  and 
the  presbytery,  and  the  latter  because  of  similar  differ- 
ences in  the  Congregational  Conference,  occurring  in  1880. 
Both  brilliant  men  drew  to  them  enormous  audiences, 
Professor  Swing  in  Central  Music  Hall  and  later  the 
Auditorium,  and  Dr.  Thomas  in  Hooley's  Theatre  and 
later  the  Chicago  Opera  House.  Probably  no  more  hu- 
manizing thought  has  ever  found  utterance  in  Chicago 
than  from  these  two  broad  platforms.  The  continuance 
of  Central  Church  under  Dr.  N.  D.  Hillis  and  the  late 
Dr.  Frank  W.  Gunsaulus  have  demonstrated  the  need 
for  taking  the  truth  to  the  people  in  the  city  proper  as 
well  as  in  the  so-called  "residential  districts." 

An  annual  art  exhibition  was  given  all  through  the 
eighties  in  the  Exposition  Building  on  the  lake  front, 
constituting  Chicago's  Salon,  and  affording  to  the  artists 
a  market  for  their  wares.  People  really  bought  pictures 
in  those  days,  and  statuary  as  well.  We  may  laugh  at 
them  now,  but  the  cultural  life  of  the  city  is  the  richer 
today  for  the  taste  there  developed. 

Chicago's  First  May  Festival 

The  first  Chicago  May  festival  was  given  on  May  23- 
25,  1882,  with  Theodore  Thomas  as  director  of  music 

56 


and  W.  L.  Tomlins  in  charge  of  the  choral  work.  The 
second  May  festival  came  in  1884,  under  the  same  aus- 
pices. The  first  opera  festival  occurred  April  13-25, 
1885,  with  Adelina  Patti,  Signori  Giannini,  Cherubmi, 
De  Anna,  and  others  of  the  famous  Mapleson  organiza- 
tion, on  the  staff  of  artists. 

There  was  plenty  of  opera  in  Chicago  those  days, 
especially  opera  bouffe,  beginning  in  1880  with  the 
"Pirates  of  Penzance,"  and  following  thick  and  fast  with 
that  whole  wonderful  series  given  by  the  Chicago  Church 
Choir  Company  and  the  Boston  Ideals,  including  "Pina- 
fore," "Patience,"  the  "Bells  of  Corneville,"  the  "Mas- 
cotte,"  "Olivette,"  "Billee  Taylor,"  the  "Musketeers," 
etc.,  etc.,  etc.  As  for  the  theatre,  Sarah  Bernhardt,  Rob- 
son  and  Crane  and  Ellen  Terry  were  among  our  visitants. 

World's  Fair  and  End  of  Century  in  Chicago 

With  the  dawn  of  the  last  decade  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury there  occurred  in  Chicago  an  event  once  more  bring- 
ing Chicago  to  the  attention  of  the  whole  world,  as  had 
done  the  great  fire  of  1871,  but  with  this  difference:  in- 
stead of  appearing  to  the  eyes  of  the  world  as  a  martyr 
to  disaster,  she  had  so  far  conquered  circumstances  as  to 
be  designated  by  the  government  of  the  United  States  to 
hold  the  great  international  exposition  commemorative 
of  the  discovery  of  America. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  initiative  in  this  vast  undertak- 
ing lay  with  Chicago,  for  as  far  back  as  1885,  the  direc- 
tors of  the  Chicago  Inter-State  Industrial  Exposition — 
Chicago  business  men — had  expressed  themselves  to  this 
effect:  "Resolved,  That  a  great  world's  fair  should  be 
held  in  Chicago  in  the  year  1892,  the  four  hundredth  an- 
niversary of  the  landing  of  Columbus  in  America."  By 
1889  a  "World's  Exposition  Company"  was  organized  by 
Chicagoans,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $5,000,000.  In  1890 
Senator  Shelby  M.  Cullom  of  Illinois  introduced  a  bill  in 
Washington  providing  for  the  holding  of  the  "World's 
Columbian  Exposition  of  the  Arts  and  Industries,"  but 
neglected  to  say  where  it  should  be  held.  New  York, 
St.  Louis  and  Washington  immediately  entered  into  com- 

57 


petition  with  Chicago,  but,  by  reason  of  the  action  al- 
ready taken,  and  backed  up  with  funds  in  Chicago,  to- 
gether with  our  acknowledged  superiority  of  location  as 


Daniel  Hudson  Burnham,  director  of  works  of  World's  Columbian 
Exposition  and  author  of  the   Chicago   Plan. 

From    portrait    by    Zorn,    by    permission    of   Mrs.    Burnham. 

to  centralization  and  transportation,  Chicago  received  the 
award. 

Building  of  the  Matchless  Exposition 

A  national  commission  was  appointed  with  Thomas  W. 
Palmer  as  president;  Harlow  N.  Higginbotham  was  pres- 

58 


ident  of  the  exposition  company;  the  local  board  of 
directors  were  elected  from  among  the  original  stockhold- 
ers, and  George  R.  Davis  became  director-general.  Act- 
ing as  professional  advisor  from  the  very  beginning  of 
the  enterprise,  Daniel  H.  Burnham,  Chicago's  great  archi- 
tect and  master  magician,  was  now  appointed  chief  of 
construction,  with  his  partner,  John  W.  Root,  as  consult- 
ing architect,  and  the  firm  of  F.  L.  Olmstead  &  Co.  as 
consulting  landscape  architects.  There  was  also,  for  the 
first  time  in  history  of  expositions,  a  board  of  lady  man- 
agers appointed,  with  Mrs.  Potter  Palmer  as  president 
and  Mrs.  Ellen  M.  Henrotin  as  vice-president.  Charles 
C.  Bonney  was  president  of  the  World's  Congress  Aux- 
iliary, covering  every  phase  of  human  achievement. 

Summoning  the  Master  Builders 

Burnham's  problem  involved  a  site  far  from  the  center 
of  town — Jackson  Park — but  reached  by  seven  railroads 
and  the  surface  lines;  in  part  reduced  to  park-like  condi- 
tions and  in  part  corresponding  somewhat  to  Sidney  Lan- 
ier's  description  of  the  Tampa  Flats,  "inexorable,  vapid, 
vague  and  chill,  the  drear  sand  levels."  His  broad  pol- 
icy was  at  once  manifest  by  the  calling  not  merely  Chi- 
cago architects  to  the  task,  but  the  representative  archi- 
tects of  the  entire  nation,  such  men  as  R.  M.  Hunt,  George 
B.  Post,  McKim,  Mead  &  White  of  New  York,  Peabody  & 
Stearns  of  Boston,  Van  Brunt  &  Howe  of  Kansas  City, 
Adler  &  Sullivan,  S.  S.  Beman,  Henry  Ives  Cobb,  W.  L. 
B.  Jenny  and  Burling  &  Whitehouse  of  Chicago.  Augus- 
tus St.  Gaudens  was  advisor  in  all  problems  involving 
the  decoration  of  the  grounds  by  sculpture  and  monu- 
mental fountains,  and  Frank  D.  Millet  had  charge  of 
decoration. 

It  is  beyond  our  purpose  or  powers  to  go  into  detail  as 
to  the  great  scheme  wrought  out  there.  This  much  should 
be  said,  however:  it  was  a  city  that  was  born  on  those 
"drear  sand  levels,"  with  its  approaches  by  land  and  by 
water,  its  civic  or  administrative  center,  its  Court  of 
Honor,  about  which  were  grouped — or  zoned  if  you  pre- 
fer— the  buildings  representative  of  the  great  main  indus- 
tries; its  outer  zone  embracing  the  Woman's  building, 
Horticulture,  Fisheries  and  buildings  admitting  of  a 
lighter,  more  decorative  treatment,  the  very  keystone  of 

59 


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c 

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I  ^ 

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which  was  the  Art  Building;  and  on  the  outmost  fringe 
of  all — the  outer  park  belt,  so  to  speak — the  region  de- 
voted to  forestry,  animal  life,  and  the  like. 

Seat  of  Commerce  Materializes  Its  Dream 

Out  of  orderliness  and  art  sprang  beauty  such  as  had 
never  been  seen  before  on  American  soil,  or,  indeed,  in 
all  the  world  mayhap.  Chicago,  the  commercial  city, 
the  devotee  of  industry — nay,  if  we  remember  her  his- 
tory, the  Cinderella  who  but  late  had  sat  among  the 
ashes,  was  to  show  the  world  how  to  be  worthy  of  the 
Fairy  Prince.  It  was  civilization  that  was  exemplified 
there,  the  last  best  phase  of  it,  which  in  providing  com- 
fort and  convenience  for  all  comers,  confers  also  the 
ineffable  boon  of  beauty  to  refresh  the  spirit. 

A  New  York  architect  in  speaking  of  it  said:  "Burn- 
ham,  the  chief  of  construction,  rubs  his  wonderful  lamp 
of  Aladdin  at  Chicago  and  the  sudden  result  is  an  ex- 
halation, a  vast  phantasm  of  architecture,  glittering  with 
domes,  towers  and  banners,  like  the  vision  of  Norumbega, 
which  presently  will  fade  away  and  leave  no  trace  be- 
hind." 

Enshrining  the  Vision 

Doubtless  he  meant  to  be  comforting,  and  even  flat- 
tering, that  New  York  architect,  but  he  did  not  know 
Chicago  people — those  hard-headed  commercial  people 
of  the  Middle  West.  They  made  no  immediate  sign,  even 
when  the  vision  vanished  to  the  perception  of  those  who 
considered  it  a  mere  phantasm.  But  deep  in  their  inmost 
souls  they  retained  the  vision  and  resolved  to  make  it 
real — as  once  before  they  had  retained  the  image  of  the 
dear  city  of  their  first  love — the  Chicago  which  seemed 
to  perish  in  the  Great  Fire,  but  which  was  cherished  in 
their  hearts  until  she  lived  again.  The  City  Beautiful  of 
today  is  the  White  City  of  yesterday,  made  tangible, 
practical  and  permanent. 

The  year  following  the  fair  the  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners proposed  the  improvement  of  the  lake  front  from 
Jackson  Park  to  Grant  Park.  In  furtherance  of  this  a 
plan  for  a  connection  between  the  two  parks  was  drawn, 
and  the  project  presented  at  a  meeting  of  the  West  and 
South  Park  Commissioners  and  later  at  a  dinner  given  by 

61 


the  Commercial  Club  of  Chicago.  This  plan  provided 
for  a  park  out  in  the  lake,  separated  from  the  mainland 
by  a  long  lagoon  spanned  at  intervals  by  bridges. 

Beginnings  of  the  Chicago  Plan 

During  the  next  three  or  four  years  the  lake  front 
scheme  was  matured  by  further  study.  Larger  and  more 
detailed  drawings  were  made.  Meanwhile,  the  Merchants' 
Club  of  Chicago,  a  young  and  vigorous  organization  of 
Chicago  business  men,  on  the  llth  of  April,  1897,  ap- 
proached J.  W.  Ellsworth,  chairman  of  the  Board  of 
South  Park  Commissioners,  to  ascertain  his  opinion  of 
erecting  an  exposition  building  on  the  lake  front.  After 
a  conference  it  was  decided  to  visit  D.  H.  Burnham  at 
his  office  in  the  Rookery  Building.  The  result  was  that 
the  plan  for  a  solitary  exposition  building  on  the  lake 
front  was  abandoned  and  the  broader  question,  "What 
can  be  done  to  make  Chicago  more  attractive?"  sched- 
uled for  the  next  meeting  of  the  club  on  April  3rd.  At 
that  meeting,  Burnham  presented  to  his  audience  a  bird's- 
eye  view  of  Chicago  from  Fifty-fifth  Street  to  Grant  Park, 
showing  an  outer  park  300  to  700  feet  wide  to  be  built 
along  the  lake  shore  east  of  the  Illinois  Central  tracks 
from  Jackson  Park  to  Twelfth  Street,  and  another  park 
to  be  built  out  in  the  lake  as  an  island  about  six  miles 
in  length.  The  lagoon  formed  by  these  two  parks  varied 
in  width  and  a  dozen  or  more  bridges  of  graceful  design 
connected  the  island  with  the  mainland.  The  project  was 
pronounced  as  "entirely  feasible  from  a  financial  view- 
point," by  a  financial  expert  who  was  called  upon  to 
advise,  and  by  one  of  Chicago's  foremost  merchants  was 
called  "an  opportunity  for  making  Chicago  the  most  re- 
markable city  of  the  world,  which  it  would  be  the  height 
of  folly  to  neglect." 

Merchants'  Club,  Commercial  Club  and  the  Plan 

The  lake  front  park  plan  was  endorsed  by  the  Mer- 
chants' Club  in  executive  session  on  April  12,  1902,  and 
at  a  meeting  of  the  executive  committee  on  February  17, 
1903,  the  persons  best  fitted  to  introduce  the  lake  front 
park  bill  at  Springfield  were  selected.  The  bill,  which 
involved  the  dedication  of  the  land  under  the  lake  to  this 
purpose,  and  the  filling  in  of  the  submerged  shore,  was 

62 


drafted  by  Attorney  John  H.  Hamline,  and  with  the  sup- 
port and  active  co-operation  of  the  Merchants'  Club,  it 
was  passed.  Early  in  1906  the  Merchants'  Club  arranged 
for  the  preparation  of  a  complete  plan  for  the  develop- 
ment of  Chicago,  a  studio  for  the  making  of  the  drawings 
was  built  on  the  roof  of  the  Railway  Exchange,  where 
Daniel  H.  Burnham  and  Edward  H.  Bennett  could  work 
without  petty  distractions,  and  where  the  great  scheme 
took  form.  In  1907  the  Commercial  Club,  which  was 
the  elder  body,  and  the  Merchants'  Club  coalesced  to 
form  one  club,  to  be  called  the  Commercial  Club,  and 
the  Chicago  Plan  has  proceeded  under  their  auspices, 
with  the  help  of  every  other  civic  agency. 

Most  Practical,  Yet  Most  Idealistic 

We  have  gone  into  detail  with  regard  to  this  matter  be- 
cause it  shows  the  effect  of  the  World's  Fair,  which  prop- 
erly belongs  to  the  period  of  the  nineties,  and  the  way 
in  which  Chicago  men  work  when  they  want  to  accom- 
plish something  worth  while.  At  once  the  most  idealistic 
and  the  most  practical  men  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  they 
do  not  leave  the  carrying  out  of  their  ideals  to  the  other 
fellow.  They  have  not  shifted  their  burdens  onto  the 
shoulders  of  overworked  and  underpaid  public  officials, 
but  have  found  a  way  of  co-operating  with  the  latter 
which  lightens  the  whole  load. 

Another  effect  of  the  World's  Fair  was  the  cosmopoli- 
tanism which  it  created.  Chicago  people  who  had  drunk 
the  blending  of  golden  and  brown  elixir  out  of  the  two 
teapots  of  the  gentle  Ceylon  representative,  or  had  taken 
coffee  with  the  Costa  Ricans,  or  in  "Old  Vienna,"  or 
from  the  "Hot,  Hot"  coffee-pot  of  the  white-petticoated 
Turk,  who  had  watched  the  batik-making  of  the  Javanese, 
observed  the  completeness  of  Japan's  defensive  equip- 

)ment,  sanitary  and  otherwise,  been  cheered  by  the  life- 
giving  quality  of  French  art,  or  depressed  by  certain 
decadent  tendencies  in  the  German — Chicago  people  who 
came  in  contact  with  all  this  daily  and  intimately  could 
never  be  accused  of  provincialism  again.  They  would 
feel  at  home  in  the  real  "Streets  of  Cairo,"  quite  at  their 
ease  in  a  village  of  the  South  Sea  Islanders,  and  in  re- 
turn they  knew  that  the  name  of  Chicago  and  the  entire 
feasibility  of  dealing  with  us  had  been  made  known  to 

63 


the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  It  is  needless  to  say  that 
the  memory  of  all  this  will  have  a  decided  effect  in  stimu- 
lating interest  in  foreign  trade,  which  can  never  seem  so 
"foreign"  since  the  World's  Fair. 

Panic  of  1893 

The  inevitableness  of  our  unity  with  the  rest  of  the 
world  was  rather  sadly  demonstrated  by  the  financial 
panic  of  1893  occasioned  primarily  by  the  cessation  of 
free  coinage  of  silver  in  India  and  the  consequent  shut- 
ting out  of  American  silver,  leaving  us  with  a  great  quan- 
tity on  our  hands.  At  the  same  time  the  silver  purchase 
law  of  1890  was  in  force,  providing  for  the  purchase  of 
4,500,000  ounces  of  silver  each  month  by  the  United 
States  treasury,  and  the  issue  of  treasury  notes  against  it 
redeemable  in  coin.  The  report  of  the  fiscal  year  ending 
February,  1894,  showed  that  our  gold  exports  amounted 
to  $70,000,000,  owing  to  the  liquidation  of  American 
securities  abroad.  Two  national  banks  in  Chicago  failed, 
as  did  many  such  institutions  elsewhere.  At  the  same 
time,  because  Chicago  is  the  great  food  market  of  the 
world,  and  people  must  have  food,  money  continued  to 
flow  into  Chicago  and  Chicago  banks  were  in  the  main 
able  to  meet  their  obligations  with  hard  cash.  Congress 
at  length  repealed  the  Silver  purchase  law,  and  the  coun- 
try recovered  from  the  crisis. 

On  May  11,  1894,  occurred  the  strike  at  Pullman, 
where  the  Pullman  Company,  affected  by  the  business 
depression,  had  had  to  lay  off  many  employes,  and  fol- 
lowing which  the  American  Railway  Union  ordered  a 
boycott  against  all  roads  running  Pullman  cars.  It  tied 
up  traffic  all  over  the  country,  trains  were  stoned,  and  a 
general  strike  of  all  labor  threatened.  Federal  troops 
from  Fort  Sheridan  were  ordered  here,  and  Debs,  the 
strike  leader,  failing  to  get  support  from  the  other  indus- 
trial unions,  called  the  strike  off.  President  Cleveland 
appointed  a  Labor  Commission  to  investigate  the  cause 
for  the  strike,  with  Carroll  D.  Wright  as  chairman. 

The  Chicago  Woman's  Club  was  organized  in  1876 
by  Mrs.  Caroline  M.  Brown,  and  this  important  advance 
of  organized  women  into  the  cultural  life  of  Chicago 
had  been  preceded  in  1873  by  organization  of  the  Fort- 
nightly Club  by  Mrs.  Kate  Newell  Doggett.  The  Friday 

64 


Club,  composed  of  younger  women  of  tastes  similar  to 
those  of  the  members  of  the  Fortnightly,  further  ex- 
tended the  fields  of  cultural  interest  which  the  women 
of  Chicago  were  more  and  more  exploiting.  There  was 
begun,  largely  through  the  efforts  of  Mrs.  Ellen  M. 
Henrotin,  the  great  movement  of  the  confederation  of 
women's  clubs  of  all  states,  a  movement  with  large 
consequences. 

Journalism  in  the  nineties  carried  such  literary  special- 
ists as  George  Ade,  Finley  Peter  Dunne  ("Mr.  Dooley"), 
Opie  Read,  Brand  Whitlock,  and  John  McCutcheon  was 
then  laying  the  foundations  of  his  unique  popularity. 
Writers  of  distinction  were  Henry  B.  Fuller  and  Hamlin 
Garland,  and  John  Vance  Cheney,  the  poet;  and  with 
poetry  one  associates  Chicago's  distinguished  writer, 
Miss  Harriet  Monroe,  author  of  the  World's  Fair  Ode 
and  subsequently  the  founder  of  the  magazine,  Poetry. 
These  people  and  others  opened  new  vistas  for  Chicago 
authors.  Among  magazines  are  to  be  noted  the  Dial, 
edited  by  F.  F.  Browne,  and  the  House  Beautiful,  edited 
by  Melville  E.  Stone,  Jr.,  while  the  creation  of  the 
Economist  by  Clinton  Evans  was  the  founding  of  an 
institution. 

In  dramatic  writing  Chicago  has  given  to  the  world 
William  Vaughan  Moody,  Edward  Sheldon  and  Frank 
and  Fannie  Hatton.  Among  gifted  amateurs  are  Mrs. 
Arthur  Aldis  and  Kenneth  Sawyer  Goodman,  the  latter 
not  returning  from  the  great  war.  Among  fiction  writers 
contributing  to  the  distinction  of  Chicago  letters  are 
Frank  Norris,  Robert  Herrick,  Theodore  Dreiser,  Upton 
Sinclair,  Emerson  Hough,  Joseph  Medill  Patterson, 
Clara  Laughlin,  Elia  W.  Peattie,  Edna  Ferber,  Lillian 
Bell,  Henry  Kitchell  Webster,  Hobart  Chatfield  Taylor. 

Chicago's  most  representative  poet  in  the  present  era 
is  the  late  William  Vaughan  Moody,  who  in  noble  verse 
came  to  a  permanent  place  among  great  writers.  An- 
other writer  of  verse  of  fame  far  beyond  his  own  city 
is  Edgar  Lee  Masters.  The  magazine,  Poetry,  has  been 
a  medium  unique  and  important  for  the  productions  of 
such  unusual  writers  as  Carl  Sandburg,  Vachel  Lindsay, 
Ezra  Pond,  Eunice  Tietjens,  the  last  being  the  associate 
editor  of  Poetry,  and  many  others  of  the  more  modern 
school  of  verse.  Mention  of  the  cultivation  of  poetry  in 

65 


Chicago  must  include  the  name  of  the  lamented  humorist, 
Bert  Leston  Taylor  ("B.  L.  T."),  conductor  of  the  "Line 
0'  Type"  in  the  Chicago  Tribune  and  publisher  of  two 
volumes  of  verse.  Wit,  scholar,  philosopher,  poet  in  one 
was  this  important  entertainer  and  teacher,  and  a  great 
reading  constituency  regrets  his  death.  In  the  writings 
of  university  professors  Chicago  has  richly  contributed 
to  the  literature  of  science  and  research. 

Chicago  artists  who  have  come  to  their  own  are  such 
as  Lorado  Taft  in  sculpture,  Ralph  Clarkson  and  Louis 
Betts  in  portraiture,  Oliver  Dennett  Grover  and  the  late 
Charles  Francis  Browne  in  landscape,  Frederick  C.  Bart 
lett,  Edgar  S.  Cameron  and  Jessie  Arms  Botke  in  mural 
painting. 

It  would  be  invidious  to  single  out  a  few  as  men  of 
mark  among  Chicago's  architects,  but  a  less  personal 
selection  may  be  effected  by  glancing  over  the  names  of 
exhibitors  at  the  thirty-fourth  annual  Chicago  architec- 
tural exhibit  at  the  Art  Institute  for  the  year  1921. 
Among  names  which  appear  there  are  noted  S.  S.  Beman, 
who,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  active  during  the 
World's  Fair  period;  E.  H.  Bennett  and  W.  E.  Parsons, 
Mr.  Bennett  having  collaborated  with  D.  H.  Burnham  on 
the  Chicago  Plan  and  being  still  connected  with  it  as 
consulting  architect;  Frank  D.  Chase,  working  more  es- 
pecially in  steel  construction;  Chatten  &  Hammond, 
architects  of  many  park  buildings;  Coolidge  &  Hodgdon, 
architects  of  many  of  the  University  of  Chicago  build- 
ings; Graham,  Anderson,  Probst  &  White,  whose  Wrig- 
ley  building  overtops  all  others  in  Chicago  in  height; 
Alfred  Granger,  who  is  building  a  home  for  E.  H.  Soth- 
ern  in  Washington;  Holabird  &  Roche,  architects  of  the 
Monroe  building  and  the  University  Club;  George  W. 
Maher,  who  specializes  on  the  building  of  homes;  Per- 
kins, Fellow  £  Hamilton,  who  are  building  Nanking 
University,  in  Nanking,  China;  Pond  &  Pond,  architects 
of  the  City  Club  and  of  the  new  Chicago  Woman's  Club 
buildings;  Schmidt,  Garden  &  Martin,  successful  with 
large  undertakings  in  hospital  and  factory  construction; 
George  F.  Schreiber,  architect  of  the  Singer  and  Flatiron 
buildings,  New  York,  as  well  as  in  other  forms;  Howard 
Shaw,  devoting  himself  largely  to  domestic  architecture, 
particularly  for  suburban  purposes. 

66 


On  the  constructive  side  of  things  in  Chicago  of  the 
nineties,  there  was  the  steady  progress  of  that  great  engi- 
neering enterprise,  the  Drainage  Canal,  and  much  build- 
ing. The  Field  Museum  was  incorporated  in  1893,  under 
the  name  Columbia  Museum  of  Chicago,  a  title  changed 
in  June,  1894,  to  Field  Columbian  Museum,  and  in  No- 
vember, 1905,  to  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History.  The 
continuance  of  this  museum  in  the  Art  Building  at  Jack- 
son Park  and  the  purchase  by  its  far-sighted  director, 
Dr.  Skiff,  of  the  foreign  exhibits  available  in  his  line, 
consoled  the  people  in  part  for  the  disappearance  of 
their  beloved  Fair.  The  Art  Institute,  incorporated  in 
1879,  came  into  its  own  in  an  adequate  building  on  the 
lake  front  at  Adams  Street  on  November  1,  1893.  The 
ownership  of  the  building,  which  cost  $785,000,  is  vested 
in  the  city  of  Chicago,  while  the  right  of  use  and  occu- 
pancy is  vested  in  the  Art  Institute.  The  museum  features 
are  as  fine  in  quality  as  any  in  the  country,  while  the 
school  is  unsurpassed  in  this  country.  The  Chicago  Acad- 
emy of  Sciences,  through  the  generosity  of  Matthew 
Laflin,  received  title  to  a  new  building  at  Lincoln  Park 
and  Center  Street  in  1893.  On  May  30th  of  that  year 
the  cornerstone  of  the  new  Public  Library  was  laid,  while 
the  Newberry  Library,  the  largest  general  reference 
library  in  the  West,  entered  its  new  building  at  Dearborn 
Avenue  and  Walton  Place  in  time  to  assist  in  the  cere- 
monies of  receiving  our  foreign  guests  who  came  to  at- 
tend the  Fair. 

Good  Citizens  on  Guard 

A  bold  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  traction  people  to 
secure  a  50-year  extension  of  their  franchise  was  de- 
feated by  the  formation  in  1896  of  the  Municipal  Voters' 
League  and  by  a  representative  Committee  of  One  Hun- 
dred sent  from  Chicago  to  attend  the  legislature  at 
Springfield.  The  active  campaign  for  the  improvement 
of  municipal  service  began  in  1896,  although  a  civil 
service  system  was  inaugurated  in  1895.  The  salaries  of 
councilmen  were  raised  with  good  effect.  The  Civic  Fed- 
eration, organized  in  1894,  in  the  year  1896  demonstrated 
that  it  could  clean  the  streets  of  the  center  of  the  business 
district  for  slightly  over  half  what  the  city  was  paying, 
and  this  it  did  by  actually  hiring  the  street  cleaners 

67 


with  an  expert  to  direct  the  work.  Cartoonists  of  the  day 
revelled  in  the  chance  to  depict  John  G.  Shedd  and  Harry 
Selfridge  in  "White  Wings"  costume,  doing  the  city's 
dirty  work  for  it. 

The  Merchants'  Club  reformed  the  city's  bookkeeping, 
and  secured  the  establishment  of  the  first  municipal 
pawnbrokers'  society  in  1899,  an  institution  of  inesti- 
mable benefit  to  the  poor  of  a  great  city.  A  Municipal 
Art  League  was  formed  the  same  year. 

In  1899  the  Chicago  city  council  created  the  Special 
Park  Commission  and  provided  for  a  systematic  study  of 
present  and  future  needs  of  the  city  in  the  matter  of  parks 
and  recreation  grounds.  In  the  same  year  the  Illinois 
Juvenile  Court  came  into  existence,  largely  as  the  result 
of  Chicago's  interest  and  active  effort. 

Chicago  Thinks  Toward  the  "Greater  Chicago" 

The  phrase  "Greater  Chicago"  came  into  common  use  in 
1898  and  1899  in  connection  with  the  efforts  of  various 
civic  bodies  to  secure  the  consolidation  of  the  numerous 
taxing  bodies  within  the  city,  so  that  one  municipal  gov- 
ernment should  perform  the  functions  of  the  city,  county 
and  sundry  small  town  governments  involved.  This  was 
the  time  when  the  press  all  over  the  country  was  agitated 
by  reports  that  whereas  Chicago  then  covered  184  square 
miles,  she  soon  would  embrace  400  square  miles,  includ- 
ing "prairie,  corn  fields,  forests  and  frog  ponds,  while 
every  living  thing  would  be  included  in  the  census,  bring- 
ing the  total  up  to  5,000,000,  and  ending  with  the  annex- 
ation of  Illinois."  Chicago  went  calmly  on,  however,  and 
while  she  did  not  succeed  in  eliminating  all  the  taxing 
bodies  she  would  have  liked,  she  did  gain  considerable 
territory,  which  made  possible  the  extension  of  much- 
needed  roads  beyond  the  former  city  limits,  and  concerted 
action  between  city  and  county  when  the  matter  of  forest 
preserves  arose. 

Technical  Education  in  the  Nineties 

Technical  and  industrial  education  in  Chicago  was 
much  forwarded  by  several  events  in  the  nineties,  such 
as  the  opening  by  the  Armour  Institute  of  Technology 
of  its  principal  building  in  1893,  the  incorporation  in 
1894  of  the  John  Crerar  Library  as  a  free  library  of  ref- 

68 


erence,  confining  itself  to  scientific  and  technical  litera- 
ture, and  the  organization  of  Lewis  Institute  on  the  West 
Side. 

Sociological  studies  and  welfare  service  were  advanced 
by  the  organization  of  Chicago  Commons  in  1894,  and  the 
incorporation  in  1898  of  the  settlements  of  Northwestern 
University  and  of  the  University  of  Chicago. 

Women's  clubs  were  assuming  greater  importance 
through  their  serious  constructive  studies  along  humani- 
tarian lines,  as  well  as  along  purely  cultural  themes. 

Work  of  One  Trade  and  City  Building  Organization 

In  the  year  1903  Chicago  celebrated  the  centennial  of 
her  foundation  as  a  frontier  trading  post  under  the  name 
of  Fort  Dearborn.  An  important  event  in  1904  was 
the  organization  of  The  Chicago  Association  of  Com- 
merce. 

It  were  futile  to  attempt  to  enumerate  the  things  ac- 
complished by  the  Association  of  Commerce  since  its 
organization.  A  partial  list  of  things  done  in  a  single 
year  published  in  their  annual  reports  for  1919  may 
serve  as  typical : 

Organized  the  Mississippi  Valley  Association  for  the  eco- 
nomic  development,   north   and   south,    of   the   great 
productive  section  of  America. 
Secured  enactment  of  the  convention  hall  bill  by  the 

Illinois  General  Assembly. 
Organized  the  Chicago  Crime  Commission. 
Secured  66,000  jobs  for  soldiers,  sailors  and  marines 

through  co-operation  of  Chicago  employers. 
Formed  the  Advertising  Council  of  the  Association,  the 

largest  "ad"  club  in  the  country. 
Organized    the    Investors'    and    Advertisers'    Protective 

Bureau. 

Obtained  passage  of  the  Illinois  waterways  bill  and  the 
favorable  attitude  of  the  United  States  authorities  to- 
wards this  great  project. 
Obtained  federal  legislation,  establishing  a  $1,500,000 

harbor  at  the  Great  Lakes  Training  School. 
Formed  the  Foreign  Trade  Club  of  the  Association. 
Fathered  the  movement  resulting  in  the  organization  of 
the  Illinois  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

69 


Conducted    Chicago's    most    successful    Fire    Prevention 

Day. 
Brought  to   Chicago  the  headquarters  of  the  American 

College  of  Surgeons,  increasing  Chicago's  prestige  as 

the  leading  medical  center. 
Conducted  the  first  important  trade  tour  into  Mexico,  to 

be  followed  that  year  by  a  return  trip  in  which  many 

American  cities  were  expected  to  join. 
Sponsored  a  strong  movement  for  the  improvement  of 

the  St.  Lawrence  River,  the  success  of  which  will  make 

Chicago  an  ocean  port. 
Received  in  Chicago  the  International  Trade  Missions  of 

Belgium,  France,   Great   Britain   and   Italy   and   con- 
ducted their  three-day  program  in  this  city. 

The  Wednesday  meetings  of  the  Association's  Ways  and 
Means  committee  are  unique  in  the  entire  country,  con- 
stituting as  they  do  one  of  the  most  important  forums 
ever  erected  for  the  consideration  of  matters  affecting  the 
city,  state  and  nation  and  the  world. 

Standardizing   Philanthropic   Work 

An  unusual  departure  within  a  commercial  organiza- 
tion was  the  institution  in  1911  of  the  Subscriptions  In- 
vestigating Committee,  which  now  has  on  its  list  219  com- 
mendable local  charities,  civic  and  reform  associations, 
enabling  the  business  man  who  has  not  time  himself  to 
investigate,  to  judge  quickly  of  the  sound  management, 
social  service  efficiency  and  financial  integrity  of  those 
appealing  for  aid. 

The  constructive  relation  of  the  Association  of  Com- 
merce to  the  Chicago  Plan  Commission  and  its  work  may 
be  judged  from  testimony  in  Walter  D.  Moody's  book, 
"What  of  the  City,"  published  in  1919,  Mr.  Moody  hav- 
ing become  managing  director  of  the  Chicago  Plan  Com- 
mission after  service  as  general  manager  of  the  Associa- 
tion of  Commerce.  In  April,  1920,  Chairman  Charles 
H.  Wacker,  of  the  Plan  Commission,  reported  that  al- 
ready twelve  basic  improvement  features  had  been  pro- 
vided for  by  bond  issues  where  necessary,  and  were  either 
under  construction  or  advanced  in  procedure  in  the 
Board  of  Local  Improvements  or  in  the  courts,  these  be- 
ing Roosevelt  Road,  Michigan  Avenue,  West  Side 
terminals  and  related  work,  South  Shore  lake  front, 

70 


Illinois  Central  Railroad  terminal,  Western  Avenue, 
Robey  Street,  Ogden  Avenue,  South  Water  Street,  acqui- 
sition of  14,254  acres  of  forest  preserves  by  Forest  Pre- 

ISN'T    IT    TIME    SHE    HAD    A    NEW    DRESS? 


The  late  Luther  D.   Bradley,   famous   cartoonist   of  the    Chicago    Daily 

News,   stressing   this   city's   bare   municipal   necessities  in   that   paper's 

issue  of  August  17,  1904. 

In  1904  the  constitution  of  Illinois  was  amended  so  as  to  permit  special  charter  legis- 
lation for  Chicago,  with  the  approval  of  the  people  of  the  city  on  a  referendum  vote. 
Under  authority  of  that  amendment  the  Municipal  Court  of  Chicago  has  been  estab- 
lished as  a  substitute  for  the  old  justice  courts.  The  fifty-ward  law  and  the  law  for 
the  non-partisan  election  of  aldermen  rest  upon  the  same  basis.  A  law  is  on  the 
statute  books  under  which  all  the  park  governments  may  be  consolidated  with  the  city, 
but  it  has  not  yet  met  with  popular  approval.  It  was  submitted  once  and  rejected.  A 
plan  is  on  foot  to  submit  it  again.  Efforts  to  secure  comprehensive  charter  revision 
under  the  Chicago  charter  amendment  of  1904  thus  far  have  proven  unavailing.  A 
semi-official  charter  convention  created  in  1905  did  much  good  work  on  the  subject  and 
agreed  upon  the  draft  of  a  new  charter.  Lack  of  success  was  due  to  political  differences 
that  developed  after  the  measure  was  presented  to  the  legislature. 

71 


serve  Commission,  outer  highway  system.  Toward  the 
public  cost  of  these  improvements  of  ten  years  the  peo- 
ple had  voted  $61,510,000  of  bonds;  the  special  assess- 
ments for  the  Michigan  Avenue  and  Roosevelt  Road 
(Twelfth  Street)  improvements  had  amounted  to  $8,- 
125,237.89;  the  railway  companies  had  agreed  to  spend 
$162,091,350,  and  the  Forest  Preserve  Commission  had 
expended  $5,316.762.  A  later  announcement  is  that 
of  the  improvement  of  Thirty-ninth  Street  or  Pershing 
Road,  as  an  east  and  west  artery,  connecting  Lake 
Michigan  with  the  McCormick  Zoological  Gardens,  for 
which  the  land  near  Riverside  has  already  been  received 
by  the  Forest  Preserve  Commissioners  as  the  gift  of  Mrs. 
Harold  McCormick.  Michigan  Boulevard,  widened  and 
provided  with  the  magnificent  "boulevard  link  bridge," 
now  sweeps  northward  unfettered  for  traffic  or  for  auto- 
mobile use  by  reason  of  the  bridge's  two-level  structure, 
and  the  Lincoln  and  South  Park  boards  have  agreed  to 
the  plan  for  an  outer  drive  between  Grant  and  Lincoln 
Parks. 

The  Franklin-Orleans  $1,000,000  double-leaf  span, 
with  its  approaches  forming  the  connecting  link  between 
the  loop  and  the  Northwest  Side,  was  opened  on  October 
23,  1920.  The  Field  Museum  of  Natural  Sciences— the 
largest  marble  building  in  the  world,  and  containing  as 
wonderful  collections  as  any  in  the  world — was  opened 
on  land  made  pursuant  to  the  Chicago  Plan  on  the  lake 
front  and  at  the  head  of  Roosevelt  Road. 

In  the  direction  of  transportation,  the  following  are 
significant  events: 
Drainage  Canal   opening   on   January   1,    1900,   linking 

the  Chicago  River  with  the  Mississippi,  first  link  in  the 

route  to  foreign  fields  by  waterway. 
First  train  over  the  electric  road  to  Joliet,  September  12, 

1901,  and  first  train  over  the  Aurora,  Elgin  &  Chicago 

Electric  Railway,  August  25,  1902. 
First  Chicago   underground  tunnels  for  freight   in   use 

July   15,   1906,   and   first  electric  cars   run   on   Clark 

Street  the  same  year,  with  subsequent  electrification  of 

lines. 
Acceptance  by  the  railway  companies  with  tracks  entering 

Chicago  of  an  ordinance  of  the  Chicago  City  Council 

for  the  elevation  of  192.77  miles  of  main  track  and 

72 


947  miles  of  all  tracks  and  the  construction  of  724  sub- 
ways at  a  cost  of  $65,000,000  in  the  year  1908,  with 
subsequent  performance  of  much  of  the  requirement. 

Opening  of  the  new  passenger  station  of  the  Chicago  & 
Northwestern  railroad  in  1911  at  a  cost  of  $25,000,000. 

Beginning  of  construction  of  the  new  passenger  station 
for  the  roads  using  the  present  Union  Station — Penn- 
sylvania, Burlington,  Chicago  &  Alton,  Milwaukee  &  St. 
Paul  R.  R. — estimated  cost  at  post-war  prices  $80,- 
000,000,  1921. 

Pageant  of  Progress  at  the  $5,000,000  Municipal  Pier, 
July  30-Aug.  14,  1921,  showing  approaches  by  water, 
by  the  new  Chicago  Avenue  surface  line  extension,  and 
by  hydro-aeroplane,  three  6-passenger  boats  floating  in 
the  harbor,  together  with  power-boats,  arousing  discus- 
sion of  Chicago  as  the  American  marine  aviation 
center. 

Passage  of  an  ordinance  by  the  Chicago  City  Council  on 
July  27,  1921,  for  the  deepening  of  a  broad  channel 
through  the  center  of  Lake  Calumet  and  the  building 
of  piers  and  slips  with  filled  ground  for  ware- 
houses— a  practical  step  towards  making  a  center  of 
deep-sea  shipping,  in  close  contact  with  railway  lines 
and  obviating  the  transshipment  of  freight  through 
congested  loop  areas  or  along  the  river. 

Men's  and  Women's  City  Clubs 

An  event  of  importance  growing  out  of  a  feeling  of  the 
need  of  companionship  in  the  downtown  district  by  those 
engaged  in  civic  work  was  the  formation  of  the  City  Club 
of  Chicago  in  1903.  The  club  now  has  2,000  members. 
Their  six-story  clubhouse  is  the  rendezvous  of  civic 
organizations  of  all  kinds.  Two  main  activities  of  the 
club  are  the  conducting  of  a  forum  for  discussion  and 
of  committees  for  investigation  and  report  on  civic  ques- 
tions. The  Chicago  Bureau  of  Public  Efficiency,  offspring 
of  the  club,  is  also  housed  in  its  building. 

The  Woman's  City  Club  has  also  been  formed  on  some- 
what similar  lines,  the  pioneers  being  Mrs.  Mary  W.  Wil- 
marth,  Jane  Addams,  Harriet  Vittum  and  Mrs.  J.  T. 
Bowen. 

In  1907  was  launched  as  an  experiment  the  Chicago 
Sunday  Evening  Club  to  provide  in  the  loop  district 

73 


from  October  to  June  a  popular  Christian  service  every 
Sunday  evening.  A  small  audience  has  grown  until  in 
May,  1921,  the  average  attendance  had  become  2,500 
with  2,175  at  a  previous  song  service.  The  founder  of 
the  club  is  Clifford  W.  Barnes,  and  he  has  been  sup- 
ported by  leading  business  men.  The  club  looks  toward 
the  erection  of  a  great  building  in  the  downtown  dis- 
trict where  a  community  center  shall  be  established 
with  rooms  for  recreation,  education,  public  welfare  and 
promotion  of  Christian  ideals. 

The  small  parks  and  playgrounds  movement,  which 
was  well  under  way  in  1910,  has  developed  enormously 
in  the  decade  that  intervenes.  In  1920,  in  addition  to  the 
several  large  parks,  there  were  194  small  parks  and  play- 
grounds maintained  by  the  city  and  by  park  authorities. 
Many  of  these  have  field  houses  and  some  have  swimming 
pools. 

Prior  to  1910  the  bathing  beach  facilities  were  limited 
in  Chicago.  In  1920  there  were  twelve  public  bathing 
beaches,  three  maintained  by  park  boards,  the  rest  by  the 
city  government.  Clarendon  Beach,  managed  by  the  city, 
is  the  largest,  with  10,000  lockers  and  accommodation 
for  23,000  bathers  in  one  day. 

Interesting  special  schools  which  have  been  opened 
in  the  new  century  are  the  Francis  Parker  School, 
founded  on  the  principles  of  advanced  education  held  by 
Dr.  Parker,  at  the  expense  of  Mrs.  Anita  Blaine  McCor- 
mick,  and  the  Chicago  School  of  Domestic  Science,  whose 
north  branch  opens  this  fall  in  the  old  Belden  Avenue 
mansion  of  the  George  E.  Adams  family.  The  College 
of  Education  at  the  University  of  Chicago  is  one  of  the 
most  highly  specialized  schools  in  the  world.  At  the  close 
of  its  summer  session  in  1921  the  University  of  Chicago 
conferred  400  degrees,  57  of  which  were  the  bachelor's 
degree  in  the  College  of  Education  and  19  in  the  College 
of  Commerce  and  Administration. 

Great  Orchestra  and  Great  Opera 

Cultural  opportunities  at  the  Art  Institute  of  Chicago 
were  seized  by  4,267  students  last  year,  and  by  1,100,000 
visitors  to  the  museum  of  the  Institute.  Typical  of  the 
work,  which  is  an  outgrowth  of  the  institution,  is  the 
Fountain  of  Time  by  Lorado  Taft  to  be  erected  in  per- 

74 


manent  material  between  Washington  and  Jackson  Parks 
with  proceeds  from  the  Ferguson  fund. 

The  building  and  dedication  on  December  14,  1904, 
of  the  permanent  home  of  the  Chicago  Orchestra,  Orches- 
tra Hall  in  Michigan  Boulevard,  is  one  of  the  most 
notable  events  in  the  musical  world  of  America,  com- 
pensating Chicago  for  the  long  years  of  patient  cultiva- 
tion of  the  people's  taste,  and  crowning  her  judgment 
in  matters  artistic,  she  who  fifty  years  ago  knew  that 
Theodore  Thomas  and  his  orchestra  deserved  a  place  of 
their  own,  and  never  faltered  until  she  had  achieved  it. 
The  orchestra  has  recently  made  a  tour  of  the  country 
with  overwhelming  success. 

Chicago  may  congratulate  herself  on  another  score  at 
this  fifty-year  celebration.  Grand  opera  has  likewise 
come  here  to  make  it  her  home.  For  several  years  the 
Chicago  Opera  Company  has  been  the  recipient  of  sup- 
port from  the  public,  aided  by  the  munificence  of  the 
guarantors,  chief  of  whom  was  Harold  F.  McCormick. 
In  January,  1921,  Miss  Mary  Garden  was  made  general 
director,  with  George  M.  Spangler,  formerly  in  charge 
of  conventions  for  the  Association  of  Commerce,  as 
business  manager,  and  the  strong  backing  of  the  asso- 
ciation behind  the  whole  organization.  Its  artistic  suc- 
cess has  long  been  unquestioned,  and  it  is  now  felt  that 
its  financial  status  is  assured  as  well.  A  unique  devel- 
opment in  Chicago,  revealing  more  idealism  than  she  is 
commonly  credited  with,  is  the  summer  season  of  opera 
at  Ravinia,  where  artists  of  the  grand  opera  organiza- 
tions of  both  Chicago  and  New  York  lend  their  assist- 
ance the  summer  through  to  a  most  unusual  summer 
repertoire,  such  as  "Mignon,"  "Traviata,"  "Lakme," 
"L'Elisir  d'Amore,"  "Martha,"  "Jewels  of  the  Madonna," 
"Manon,"  "Madame  Butterfly." 

A  number  of  new  theatres  have  opened  in  Chicago 
with  the  new  century,  including  the  Columbus  in  1901, 
the  Iroquois  and  the  Garrick  in  1903,  the  Colonial  in 
1904,  the  New  Olympic  in  1904,  the  New  Theatre  (for- 
merly the  Steinway)  in  1906,  the  Apollo  in  1921.  The 
burning  of  the  Iroquois  Theatre  on  December  30,  1903, 
was  the  occasion  of  such  loss  of  life  that  Chicago,  in 
common  with  all  other  cities,  has  established  fire  regula- 
tions for  theatres  never  before  attempted.  The  silent 

75 


drama  came  to  Chicago  for  the  first  time  September  1, 
1897,  the  place  being  the  Scenic  Theatre,  now  the  Fashion 
Theatre,  No.  557  S.  State  Street.  Today  the  moving  pic- 
ture houses  of  Chicago  number  450,  some  of  large  size 
and  architecturally  distinguished. 


Illinois  in  the  Great  War 


Meeting  requirements  as  a  center  of  population  and 
patriotism  in  the  Spanish-American  War  of  1898,  as 
in  the  prolonged  struggle  of  the  Civil  War,  Chicago  and 
Illinois  mightily  took  up  the  huge  responsibilities  of 


One  of  Chicago's  great  days — the  preparedness  parade,  June  3, 

1916.     The  demonstration  even  exceeded  the  huge  outpouring 

not  long  before  marking  the  mood  of  New  York  and  the  Nation, 

the  growing  will  to  enter  the  war  and  settle  it. 

Permission  of   Chicago  Daily   News. 

the  world  war,  and  Illinois  gave  351,153  men  to 
the  army  and  navy  of  the  United  States  during  this 
conflict,  furnishing  one  man  for  every  twelve  in  the 
army  and  more  men  to  both  army  and  navy  than  any 
other  state  excepting  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  both 
of  which  have  a  larger  population.  The  state's  own 
division  was  the  33d,  and  this  was  the  only  distinctively 
Illinois  organization  that  saw  active  service  in  France. 
It  was  formed  from  the  state's  old  National  Guard  regi- 
ments and  represented  every  part  of  the  commonwealth. 
It  was  led  chiefly  by  Illinois  men,  under  the  command  of 

76 


Major  General  George  Bell,  Jr.,  a  veteran  of  the  regu- 
lar army.  The  division  had  a  total  of  7,255  battle  cas- 
ualties, including  989  men  who  were  killed  or  died  of 
wounds.  The  33d  (or  Prairie)  Division  was  trained  at 
Camp  Logan,  near  Houston,  Tex.,  and  after  a  short  pe- 
riod of  training  overseas  took  its  place  beside  the  vet- 
eran divisions  of  the  American  army  and  fought  glo- 
riously throughout  the  critical  days  of  the  war. 

The  division's  brigade  units  were:  66th  Infantry 
Brigade,  composed  of  the  131st  and  132nd  Infantry 
and  124th  Machine  Gun  Battalion;  65th  Infantry 
Brigade,  composed  of  the  129th  Infantry,  130th  Infan- 
try and  123d  Machine  Gun  Battalion;  58th  Field  Artil- 
lery, composed  of  the  122nd  Field  Artillery,  123rd  Field 
Artillery  and  124th  Field  Artillery,  108th  Ammunition 
Train  and  108th  Trench  Mortar  Battery. 

Fortunes  of  86th  Division 

The  86th  Division,  which  was  trained  at  Camp  Grant, 
Illinois,  composed  chiefly  of  Illinois  selected  men,  was 
not  permitted  by  circumstances  of  war  to  fulfill  all  of 
its  fine  promise.  It  was  depleted  time  and  again  while 
training  by  drafts  made  upon  it  to  fill  ranks  of  other 
divisions  that  were  about  to  sail  for  France.  Indeed, 
the  86th  Division  included  in  its  personnel  at  various 
times  enough  men  to  make  up  several  divisions  and  it 
is  likely  that  the  division  was  represented  in  almost 
every  regiment  seeing  actual  service  in  France.  Finally 
out  of  the  stream  of  raw  recruits  the  division  was  per- 
fected and  almost  a  year  after  it  had  gone  into  training 
at  Camp  Grant  the  86th  was  ordered  to  France,  disem- 
barking at  Brest  in  September  and  October,  1918.  De- 
structive fighting  was  then  in  progress  and  there  was  a 
need  for  replacement,  a  need  for  men  rather  than  di- 
visions, and  the  86th  as  a  division  was  sacrificed. 

Illinois  was  also  well  represented  in  the  84th  and  88th 
Divisions  and  in  a  number  of  regiments  and  many 
smaller  units,  one  prominent  organization  being  the 
149th  Field  Artillery  (First  Field  Artillery).  Among 
the  first  units  to  leave  Chicago  for  France  was  the  13th 
Engineers,  recruited  from  six  railroad  systems.  The 
colored  population  of  Illinois  furnished  two  regiments 
who  were  in  the  thick  of  the  fighting,  being  the  370th 

77 


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78 


Infantry,  formerly  8th  Infantry,  and  the  365th  In- 
fantry. The  first  Illinois  organization  to  reach  France 
was  Base  Hospital  No.  12,  being  one  of  the  four  com- 
plete units  of  its  kind  organized  by  the  Chicago  chapter 
of  the  American  Red  Cross.  There  were  Illinois  men 
in  the  fight  from  the  first  appearance  of  American  forces 
at  the  front  to  the  last  terrible  days  of  the  Argonne, 
and  Illinois  contributed  thousands  to  the  technical  and 
scientific  branches  of  the  service.  Illinois,  too,  in  the 
work  of  the  Great  Lakes  Naval  Training  Station  became 
the  center  after  the  war  began  of  the  greatest  post  of 
its  kind  in  the  world.  The  home  lines  were  held  with 
equal  sacrifice  and  devotion.  Two  striking  and  influen- 
tial public  events  were  the  preparedness  parade  of  June 
3,  1916,  and  the  government  war  exposition  of  1918. 

Complete   Devotion  to   Supreme   Task 

About  7  per  cent  of  the  war  loan  subscriptions  of  the 
Nation  came  from  Illinois,  which  has  but  5%  per  cent 
of  the  population  of  the  United  States.  The  State 
Council  of  Defense,  Samuel  Insull,  chairman,  has  re- 
ported that  the  state's  total  contributions  to  various  funds 
for  war  aid  and  relief  organizations  were  more  than 
$45,000,000.  The  farm  crop  of  1918,  greatest  in  money 
value  ever  produced  by  any  state,  was  estimated  to  be 
worth  $879,697,000,  and  in  the  same  year  the  output  of 
Illinois  factories  in  direct  war  contracts  was  about 
$2,000,000,000,  the  total  of  manufactured  products  being 
valued  at  $6,000,000,000.  Illinois  gave  to  the  Nation 
the  American  Protective  League  and  the  Four-Minute 
men,  and  organized  labor  kept  industrial  peace. 

Of  the  state's  351,153  men  in  the  army  and  navy  more 
than  46  per  cent  entered  by  enlistment.  Illinois  regis- 
tered 1,572,747  men  under  the  selective  draft  and  of 
these  188,010  were  inducted  into  the  service.  More  than 
5,000  men  gave  their  lives  for  their  country,  and  out 
of  the  seventy-eight  officers  and  men  awarded  the  Con- 
gressional Medal  of  Honor  seven  were  residents  of  Illi- 
nois, while  350  officers  and  men  from  this  state  received 
the  Distinguished  Service  Cross.  The  state  maintained 
four  great  training  camps,  one  the  Reserve  Officers' 
Training  Camp  at  Fort  Sheridan,  and  the  others  the 
Great  Lakes  Naval  Training  Station,  National  Army 

79 


Cantonment  at  Camp  Grant,  and  the  Chanute  Flying 
Field  at  Rantoul.  Under  the  State  Council  of  Defense 
80,000  citizens  engaged  in  war  activities  and  nearly  700,- 
000  women  in  Illinois  were  enrolled  in  the  woman's 


Liberty's  service  flag. 

A  splendid  bit  of  war  work  by  John  T.  McCutcheon,  in   Chicago  Tribune. 

80 


committee  of  the  State  Council  of  Defense,  while  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  other  men,  women  and  children 
were  otherwise  active  for  the  victories. 

Civilian   War   Work 

Chicago's  war  work,  non-combatant,  functioned 
through  the  American  Red  Cross,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing seven  societies,  all  like  the  universal  mother,  ar- 
dently devoted  to  the  aims  of  victory:  National  War 


:  33d  Division  comes  home  to  its  own,  June,  1919.     March  past  La  Sail* 
el  as  seen  from  the  headquarters  of  The  Chicago  Association  of  Commerce 

International    Film    Company. 

Work  Council  of  Y.  M.  C.  A.;  National  War  Work 
Council  of  Y.  W.  C.  A.;  National  Catholic  War  Coun- 
cil (Knights  of  Columbus)  ;  Jewish  Welfare  Board; 
War  Camp  Community  Service;  American  Library  As- 
sociation; Salvation  Army.  The  receipts  from  the  coun- 
try at  large  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  as  of  March  31,  1919, 
were  $125,282,859,  and  expenditures  $97,817,005.  Chi- 

81 


cago  contributed  for  war  "Y"  work  about  $12,000,000. 
In  the  united  war  work  drive  securing  $8,555,000,  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  was  allotted  $4,000,000;  Knights  of  Colum- 
bus, $1,500,000;  Jewish  Welfare  Board  and  Salvation 
Army,  $185,000  each.  The  American  Red  Cross,  as  re- 


Since  America  entered  the  war  the  Chicago  Chapter  of  the 
American  Red  Cross  has  received  in  contributions  from  Chicago 
citizens  nearly  $15,000,000,  and  it  continues  to  be  the  succoring 
mother  wherever  in  its  jurisdiction  arises  the  call. 

Reproduced    by    permission    of    C.    D.    Gibson,    the    Life    Publishing    Company 
and    the   University    Club   of    Chicago. 

82 


ported  by  its  national  war  council,  Feb.  28,  1919,  had  re- 
ceived in  cash  and  supplies  more  than  $400,000,000,  with 
8,000,000  American  women  in  its  service,  about  17,000,- 
000  full-paid  members  and  9,000,000  school  children  ad- 
ditional. 

In  Chicago  the  Red  Cross  has  been  administered  by 
the  following  executive  committee:  John  W.  Scott, 
James  Simpson,  Albert  A.  Sprague,  Seymour  Morris, 
Frank  0.  Wetmore,  Augustus  A.  Carpenter,  Charles  H. 


November  29,  1915. 


January    24,    1916. 

There   were    days   when,    as   the   late   and    masterful   Luther    D. 

Bradley,   of   the    Chicago    Daily   News,    trenchantly    depicted,    we 

were  indeed  "slow  to  anger" ;  but  there  did  follow  Chateau  Thierry^ 

St.  Mihiel  and  the  Argonne — and  Armistice  day. 

83 


Wacker,  Wm.  Wrigley,  Jr.,  Marquis  Eaton,  chairman. 
Chicago's  citizens  have  contributed  since  this  country 
entered  the  war  nearly  $15,000,000.  It  is  a  vast  com- 
munity enterprise  commanding  in  Chicago  during  the 
war  a  membership  of  more  than  1,000,000  persons. 

Through  this  agency  Chicago  equipped  and  put  in  serv- 
ice numerous  ambulances  and  four  complete  base  hos- 
pitals, cared  for  more  than  one  million  soldiers  and 
sailors  in  transit,  transformed  $1,700.000  worth  of  raw 
material,  through  the  volunteer  service  of  100,000  work- 
ers, into  $4,000,000  worth  of  manufactured  supplies 
and  took  adequate  care  throughout  the  war  of  upwards 
of  fifty  thousand  families  dependent  on  the  Chicago 
men  who  were  then  fighting  in  the  armies  of  the  United 
States  and  of  its  allies.  The  chapter  has  continued 
since  the  war  to  bridge  the  gap  for  thousands  of  dis- 
abled soldiers  and  sailors  awaiting  the  relief  ultimately 
available  under  the  Government  plan.  It  carries  on 
among  the  children,  through  the  Junior  Red  Cross,  an 
extensive  program  of  patriotic  education  and  service. 
It  gives  essential  instruction  in  dietetics,  first  aid,  and 
home  care  of  the  sick  to  many  families;  more  particu- 
larly to  the  families  of  disabled  service  men. 


84 


THINGS  DONE  AND  TO  DO 

Activities   and    Projects   of   Chicago   as   a   City 

Which  Contain  Essential  Elements  of 

Development  Program 

A  city,  like  a  family  or  corporation,  is  what  its  people 
make  it.  Headless  and  planless  organizations  drift  but, 
even  with  some  good  done  by  chance,  leave  no  monu- 
ments in  government,  industry  and  social  service.  Em- 
pires are  not  born,  masterful  communities  are  not 
founded  in  seed  unthinkingly  sown  by  the  wayside.  Ger- 
many had  a  plan,  a  German  plan,  and  she  set  forth  to 
make  it  good.  It  was  not  easy  to  arrest  execution  of  that 
plan,  so  well  ordered  was  it,  so  united  and  zealous  were 
its  devotees.  If  to  a  bad  plan  can  be  given  extraordi- 
nary impetus  and  direction,  surely  a  good  plan  can  go 
far  by  the  benevolence  of  its  purpose.  But  a  plan,  al- 
ways a  plan,  a  program. 

A  city  of  the  first  class  is  today  physically  and  morally 
a  commanding  example  of  organization,  of  regulated  in- 
dividualism. We  may  like  a  city  for  its  eccentricities, 
but  the  city  that  draws  and  sways,  loves  and  is  loved,  is 
a  balanced  organism  of  diverse  attributes  and  these  come 
only  by  design.  In  the  greater  cities  growth  rests  upon 
commerce  and  industry,  in  the  rich  soil  of  which  flourish 
the  creative  arts.  The  life  of  a  city  is  thought,  worship, 
industry,  trade  and  government.  Chicago  is  still  pre- 
eminently a  great  workshop  and  market  into  which  edu- 
cation and  the  arts  are  bringing  new  power  and  prestige. 
Conditions  promise  it  a  vast  accession  of  people,  but 
these  people  must  assert  themselves  masters  of  their  own 
development  or  Chicago  will  be  population  without  iden- 
tity. Manufacturing  and  merchandise  are  the  essentials 
of  a  market,  but  more  numerous  are  the  elements  of  a 
city  whose  aspect  is  inspiration  and  whose  word  is  leader- 
ship. 

Dawn  of  an  Era  of  Plan 

No  Mecca  to  the  race  is  the  city  which  satisfies  itself 
only.  A  symmetrical  city  means  health,  production  and 

85 


sale,  churches,  schools,  museums,  amusements,  cleanli- 
ness, order,  public  safety,  beauty,  transportation — com- 
munity elements  such  as  these  do  not  automatically  fall 
into  their  respective  relations  and  start  to  function  to  the 
greatest  advantage  merely  because  man  is  a  gregarious 
animal  and  the  "government  at  Washington  still  lives." 
Into  all,  inciting  and  correlating  and  forever  guiding, 
must  enter  plan.  Chicago  as  a  social  and  economic  ag- 
gregation has  attained  in  an  uncontrolled  century,  strik- 
ingly by  the  potency  of  destruction,  the  framework  and 
moral  power  of  greatness — now  opens  an  era  of  con- 
scious cultivation  and  regulation,  an  era  of  plan. 

At  this  historic  hour  in  the  spontaneous  and  unorgan- 
ized progress  of  the  world's  youngest  great  city  many  of 
its  friends  herewith  propose  to  fellow  citizens  that  we 
all  scan  the  making  of  the  heritage  to  our  children,  and 
agree  that  concert  of  action  along  certain  lines  of  devel- 
opment is  reasonable,  indeed  is  imperative.  Accordingly 
The  Chicago  Association  of  Commerce  offers  for  study 
of  the  people  of  this  city  the  following  summaries  and 
suggestions  constituting  a  practical  program  of  work, 
and  before  us  all  nothing  existing  so  well  deserves  seri- 
ous and  grateful  consideration  as  the  Chicago  Plan.  Ac- 
companying presentation  herein  of  its  essential  features 
go  other  proposals  begging  the  respectful  study  of  the 
generations  passing  and  to  be. 

Population  at  Centennial 

Every  city  has  policies  of  improvement,  and  certain 
facilities  and  services  are  common  to  Boston,  Chicago, 
Seattle  or  New  Orleans — essential  things  in  structure  and 
function,  but  each  city  may  present  a  variation  of  the 
universal  problem,  and  in  a  city  of  the  size  and  rapid 
growth  of  Chicago  municipal  activities  cannot  be  left  to 
evolve,  but  must  be  directed  according  to  local  require- 
ments and  harmonized  as  soon  as  possible  with  the  gen- 
eral plan. 

Chicago  had  2,701,705  people  in  1920,  according  to 
the  government  census  figures.  A  committee  of  The  Chi- 
cago Association  of  Commerce,  reporting  upon  smoke 
abatement  and  the  electrification  of  railways  in  1915, 
made  estimates  of  Chicago's  future  population  for  a 
number  of  periods  up  to  and  including  1950.  The  esti- 

86 


mate  of  this  committee  for  1920  checked  very  closely 
with  the  official  census  returns.  The  committee's  fore- 
cast for  1950  places  Chicago's  population  at  4,267,803. 

Past  experience  shows  that  Chicago  has  gained  at 
least  500,000  people  each  decade,  or  50,000  annually. 
If  we  assume,  to  be  conservative,  that  the  city's  growth 
after  1950  will  be  at  the  rate  of  only  40,000  people  an- 
nually, Chicago  will  have  at  the  centennial  celebration 
of  1971  more  than  5,100,000  inhabitants. 

Double  Its  Present  Area? 

In  1871  the  city  of  Chicago  covered  36  square  miles 
of  territory;  today  somewhat  more  than  200  square 
miles  are  embraced  within  its  limits,  a  growth  in  extent 
during  the  short  space  of  fifty  years  of  455  per  cent. 

Cook  County  covers  an  area  of  933  square  miles. 
While  annexations  become  less  frequent  after  cities  grow 
large,  there  are  today  many  thriving  communities 
crowded  about  the  city's  boundaries,  some  of  which  will 
undoubtedly  become  parts  of  the  greater  city.  As  the 
territories  immediately  surrounding  the  city's  limits  be- 
come more  densely  populated,  and  the  differences  be- 
tween city  and  suburban  life  less  emphasized,  many  of 
these  communities  will  come  into  Chicago,  so  that  it  is 
quite  within  reasonable  prediction  to  foretell  a  Chicago 
double  its  present  area  when  another  fifty  years  shall 
have  passed. 

Chicago  is  the  place  of  origin  of  twenty-three  railway 
trunk  lines  and  within  the  Chicago  district  are  thirteen 
switch  roads,  making  thirty-six  different  entities  compos- 
ing the  physical  facilities  of  the  world's  railroad  center. 
From  the  beginning  of  the  construction  in  1847  of  the 
Galena  and  Chicago  Union  Railroad — a  superior  pioneer 
line,  by  the  way — up  to  the  present  vast  preparations  for 
freight  and  passenger  accommodations  west  of  the  river, 
new  railroads  have,  so  to  speak,  steamed  in  where  they 
could,  hooked  on  to  the  growing  city's  economic  struc- 
ture and  set  out  to  establish  the  relations  between  manu- 
facture, trade  and  transportation.  Now  has  become 
acute  Chicago's  problem  of  terminals. 

The  great  question  of  transportation  involves  the  im- 
provement of  harbors  and  waterways  and  of  the  devel- 
opment of  aviation  policies  and  facilities.  In  the  re- 

87 


versal  of  the  Chicago  River,  for  drainage  disposal  and 
navigation,  Chicago  accomplished  an  undertaking  of  the 
first  magnitude,  and  for  the  time,  with  the  co-operation 
of  the  federal  government  regulating  the  discharge  of 
water  through  the  Drainage  Canal,  the  drainage  problem 
has  its  solution,  but  Chicago  has  great  matters  before  it 
in  this  department  of  municipal  safety. 

Essential  Improvements 

Chicago  is  a  city  daily  moving  to  and  from  the  center 
a  great  and  increasing  number  of  people.  Intensive  study 
of  the  problem  of  local  transportation  steadily  points 
to  the  building  of  subways  and  the  perfecting  of  surface 
and  elevated  lines.  Other  public  utilities  must  be  fos- 
tered; progressive  electrification  of  one  great  railway  is 
ordained  with  corresponding  elimination  of  smoke;  the 
reduction  of  noise  must  be  sought;  parks,  playgrounds 
and  bathing  beaches  must  be  multiplied;  a  zoning  system 
will  be  a  creation  of  the  near  future  and  Chicago's  hous- 
ing problem  will  begin  to  have  solution ;  in  practices  for 
public  safety  the  people  are  willingly  accepting  instruc- 
tion; beauty  must  not  be  a  happening  but  an  objective; 
government  must  be  simplified  and  measured  by  its  serv- 
ice for  the  common  good;  our  water  front  must  be  made 
to  attain  its  inspiring  possibilities;  education  must  be 
developed  as  a  holy  trust,  and  religion  considered  at  least 
as  vital  a  force  as  the  functioning  of  any  mechanical 
equipment  or  service;  social  welfare  work  must  receive 
even  greater  encouragement,  and  the  arts  acquire  the 
impetus,  as  they  have  the  friendship,  of  commerce  itself. 
These  statements,  historical  and  forward  looking,  must 
in  view  of  the  confines  of  this  book  be  confined  to  basic 
things,  to  some  of  the  essentials  of  growth,  and  the  realm 
of  the  incidental  cannot  be  opened  on  all  sides.  This 
forelook  will  serve  its  ends  to  the  generation  in  control, 
and  to  the  citizens  of  tomorrow,  if  it  concentrates  atten- 
tion upon  some  of  the  meritorious  activities  and  possi- 
bilities of  Chicago's  development,  secures  the  more  in- 
telligent perpetuation  of  work  in  hand,  and  stirs  the 
imagination  and  will  of  the  men  and  women  of  the  fu- 
ture to  realize  a  greater  and  better  city. 


CITIZENSHIP 


Chicago  Citizens  Urged  to  Commit  Themselves  to  All  the 

Duties  Which  Franchise  Implies — Problem 

of  Americanization 


A  year  significant  in  Chicago  history,  1921,  has  been 
marked  by  a  proposal  issued  by  Joseph  R.  Noel,  presi- 
dent of  The  Chicago  Association  of  Commerce,  that  the 
citizens  of  this  community  formally  pledge  themselves  to 
give  greater  attention  to  the  various  duties  of  citizenship, 
and  cultivate  personal  and  collective  devotion  to  politi- 
cal obligations.  Men  and  women  voters  have  been  asked 
to  sign  the  following  citizenship  pledge: 

WlTH  SINCERE  BELIEF  IN  THE  NOBLE  PURPOSE 
WHICH  GAVE  BIRTH  TO  OUR  NATION  AND  IN  THE 
LOFTY  PRINCIPLES  WHICH  HAVE  BEEN  WROUGHT 
INTO  ITS  CONSTITUTION ;  WITH  ARDENT  LOVE  FOR 
THE  COUNTRY  WHICH  HAS  CONFERRED  UPON  ME 
A  PRICELESS  HERITAGE  OF  FREEDOM  AND  OPPOR- 
TUNITY, I  GRATEFULLY  ACKNOWLEDGE  MY  PRIV- 
ILEGES AND  OBLIGATIONS  AS  AN  AMERICAN  CITI- 
ZEN, AND  PROMISE  TO  VOTE  AT  ALL  PRIMARIES 
AND  ELECTIONS  SO  THAT  I  MAY  HELP  TO  GIVE 
ASSURANCE  THAT  "GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  PEOPLE, 
BY  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  FOR  THE  PEOPLE  SHALL 
NOT  PERISH  FROM  THE  EARTH." 

Executing  Political  Responsibility 

A  card  bearing  this  pledge  is  being  issued  in  large 
numbers,  and  already  the  extensive  degree  of  its  accept- 
ance suggests  the  desirability  and  promise  of  this  call  to 
fulfill  a  common  trust.  The  declarations  of  this  pledge 
are  simple,  elevating  and  patriotic  and  cannot  but  invite 
in  course  of  time  general  adoption.  The  practical  re- 
sults of  popular  commitment  to  the  objects  of  this  pledge 
should  appear  in  a  reanimated  citizenship,  purposeful 
and  persistent.  Whoever  signs  this  pledge  will  acquaint 
himself  or  herself  with  the  issues  and  candidates  of  cam- 
paigns; will  give  personal  attention  to  the  membership 

89 


and  acts  of  political  conventions;  will  attend  primaries; 
will  vote  at  all  elections,  and  will  work  for  the  purity 
and  efficiency  of  the  ballot. 

Citizens  who  hereby  give  themselves  to  a  more  active 
citizenship  will  also  accept,  seeking  no  exemption,  the 
duties  of  jurors,  and  in  the  selection  of  legislators,  state 
and  national,  they  will  choose  representatives  who  will 
enact  laws  which  will  be  enforceable,  and  when  such 


A  new  Lincoln  statue  is  among  the  rich  possessions  of 
Chicago,  and  will  be  erected  at  the  south  end  of  the  Grant 
Park  improvement.  It  is  the  work  of  the  great  Saint 
Gaudens,  sculptor  of  the  noble  memorial  in  Lincoln  Park. 
The  sculptor  aimed  to  make  this  statue  the  greatest  creative 
work  of  his  life.  He  worked  on  it  nearly  twelve  years.  He 
has  sought  to  suggest  the  isolation  of  Lincoln  in  the  crucial 
period  of  the  Civil  War.  Will  not  Chicago  long  say  with 
Lowell  in  his  own  imperishable  ode? — 

Our    children    shall    behold   his    fame, 

The  kindly-earnest,  brave,  foreseeing  man, 
Sagacious,  patient,   dreading  praise,   not   blame, 

New   birth   of    our    new    soil,    the    first    American. 

90 


laws  become  enacted  they  will  insist  upon  enforcement. 
There  is  no  time,  speaking  without  the  least  partisanship, 
so  auspicious  as  the  present  for  concert  of  action  to 
emphasize  the  evils  of  political  negligence  and  the  bene- 
fits which  will  follow  systematic  devotion  to  all  the  obli- 
gations of  citizens. 

Chicago's   Task  in  Americanization 

The  war  admonished  Chicago  and  indeed  all  America 
to  take  new  thought  about  the  Americanization  of  the 
alien.  In  1910  there  were  783,428  foreign  born  people 
in  this  city,  and  in  1920  these  had  become  805,482.  Here 
is  a  problem  of  much  racial  complexity,  the  end  being, 
apart  from  that  of  standardized  education,  the  conversion 
of  the  foreign  born  into  citizens  of  ardent  and  intelligent 
Americanism  and  of  the  complete  preparation  of  their 
native  born  children  for  all  the  duties  and  privileges  of 
a  progressive  democracy. 

Among  many  local  forces  contributing  to  the  work  of 
Americanization,  The  Chicago  Association  of  Commerce 
has  had  the  pleasure  of  establishing  a  particularly  inti- 
mate touch  with  the  adult  foreign  born,  and  this  through 
conducting  classes  in  English  and  citizenship  in  many  in- 
dustrial plants.  So  far  as  this  instructive  work  has  gone, 
when  the  circumstances  have  encouraged  the  greatest 
number  of  classes  and  the  largest  attendance,  classes  have 
numbered  fifty-six,  having  616  sessions,  and  attendances 
6,788  in  one  month.  With  the  continued  and  invaluable 
co-operation  of  the  Chicago  Board  of  Education  and  the 
favor  of  industrial  employers,  this  work  of  making  Amer- 
ican citizens  will  go  on.  It  is  reasonable  to  anticipate 
the  gradual  amalgamation  of  the  races  in  America,  and 
to  this  end  is  being  taught  first  the  English  language  and 
the  obligations  of  citizenship,  and  the  more  elementary 
laws  of  federal  and  state  government;  and  in  this  con- 
nection our  procedure  of  naturalization  should  conduce 
to  high  conceptions  of  citizenship. 

Future  Policies  in  Making  Citizens 

While  the  next  fifty  years  may  not  require  so  much  of 
the  teaching  of  English  in  this  special  way,  because  of 
the  work  of  the  public  schools,  it  will  require  great  wis- 
dom in  directing  the  study  and  reading  of  both  young 

91 


and  old  in  matters  relating  to  citizenship,  a  citizenship 
that  shall  be  harmonious  and  hopeful.  Finally  when,  as 
we  shall  strive  to  do,  we  shall  have  secured  a  united  peo- 
ple speaking  a  single  language,  there  remains  the  task 
of  setting  forth  higher  ideals  and  more  definite  obliga- 
tions on  the  part  of  the  individual  which  will  secure  the 
greatest  good  of  all.  This  involves  in  many  forms  classes 
in  citizenship  for  adults,  lectures,  social  gatherings,  more 
right  ways  of  inspiring  the  individual  to  a  higher  type 
of  personal  life,  and  the  better  recognition  and  fulfill- 
ment of  social  obligations. 


92 


WOMAN  AND  THE  NEW  CHICAGO 


Her     Endowment     with     Political     Powers     Based     Upon 

Organized  Cultural  and  Welfare  Work  Promises 

That   Her   Citizenship   Will   Be   a 

Progressive  Force 


In  the  presidential  election  of  1920  the  successful  can- 
didate received  in  Chicago  213,083  votes  of  women  and 
his  next  competitor  66,700.  The  population  of  Chicago 
in  that  year,  as  by  the  federal  census,  was  2,701,705, 
and  of  this  total  the  females  were  1,331,541  and  the 
males  1,370,164.  The  total  vote  of  Chicago's  women 
at  the  presidential  election  was  293,401  and  of  men  491,- 
600.  The  nineteenth  amendment  to  the  federal  constitu- 
tion conferring  equal  suffrage  with  men  upon  women 
was  proclaimed  August  29,  1920. 

In  1913  the  Illinois  legislature  gave  women  the  vote 
for  presidential  electors  and  other  officers.  In  other 
states  many  legislatures  followed,  and  this  gave  such  im- 
petus to  the  national  movement  that  the  federal  constitu- 
tional amendment,  which  had  been  so  heroically  pushed 
for  several  years,  became  an  accomplished  fact,  the  Illi- 
nois legislature  being  first  to  ratify  the  suffrage  amend- 
ment. 

It  was  estimated  that  under  this  amendment  more  than 
26,800,000  women  were  made  eligible  to  vote  in  all  elec- 
tions. Under  existing  state  laws  17,000,000  had  already 
become  entitled  to  vote  for  President  of  the  United  States 
and  7,000,000  to  vote  for  members  of  congress. 

Chicago,  the  Illinois  contingent  of  this  imposing  host, 
is  in  the  organization  period  of  vast  future  service.  The 
public  welfare  work  of  Chicago  women  already  has  its 
monuments  in  settlements,  kindergartens,  vacation 
schools,  school  lunch  rooms,  women  matrons  in  jails  and 
schools  in  jails,  child  welfare  society,  parental  schools, 
juvenile  court,  pensions  for  mothers,  civic  music  associa- 
tion, children's  orchestra,  corrective  schools  for  girls, 
policewomen,  community  kitchens,  day  nurseries,  and 
with  the  advent  of  the  great  war  it  was  women  who  stabil- 
ized the  home  forces,  who  saved  the  food,  whose  tireless 

93 


needles  augmented  the  clothing  and  sanitary  supplies  of 
armed  millions. 

Woman  and  Housing  Problem 

Now  come  the  requirements  of  peace  to  be  satisfied  by 
social  or  political  action,  or  both,  and  the  call  to  women 


Projected    building    of    Woman's    Club    of    Chicago,    Nos.    62-72 
East   Eleventh  Street. 

Permission   of  Pond   &  Pond,  architects. 

as  citizens  is  to  be  practical,  not  too  partisan,  and  fulfill 
the  possibilities  of  golden  opportunity.  Woman  as  a 
citizen  will  not  long  leave  Chicago's  neglected  problem 

94 


of  housing  untouched.  Into  matters  of  education,  house- 
keeping and  recreation  her  sympathies,  her  intuitions 
and  her  constructive  powers  will  enter  for  distinguished 
accomplishment.  The  urgency  of  the  housing  situation 
is  already  making  her  an  advocate  of  a  zoning  system, 
and  her  service  for  the  betterment  of  physical  conditions 
will  develop  corresponding  forces  to  strengthen  the 
city's  spiritual  life. 

While  woman's  entrance  into  municipal  politics  may 
imply  a  degree  of  temporary  submission  to  its  evils,  it 
should  be  the  expectation  of  the  sex  which  gave  itself 
first  the  franchise,  and  has  far  to  go  in  its  corrective  use, 
that  the  sordid  conditions  of  a  great  city,  in  moral  and 
physical  transformation,  will  enlist  the  best  endowments 
of  the  new  voting  class  and  stimulate  woman's  practical 
devotion  to  the  ideals  of  government. 


yr> 


PROGRESS  IN  GOVERNMENT 


A  Sufficient  Taxation  System  to  Be  Expected  from  Present 
Constitutional  Convention — Unification  of  Chicago's 
Many   Governments  Imperative   Accom- 
plishment of  Future 


There  is  now  in  service  a  constitutional  convention  for 
the  purpose  of  providing  a  new  constitution  for  this  state. 
The  greatest  need  which  must  be  met  by  this  convention 
is  the  removal  of  those  limitations  fastened  upon  the 
state  and  particularly  the  city  of  Chicago  by  the  now 
archaic  constitution  of  1870  which  prevents  our  having 
a  workable,  fair  and  sufficient  taxation  system.  The  situ- 
ation in  the  convention,  however,  is  that  unless  the  dele- 
gates agree  to  a  proper  representation  of  Cook  County 
in  the  legislature,  to  be  provided  by  the  new  constitu- 
tion, based  upon  the  population  of  Cook  County  as  it 
may  be  from  time  to  time  without  limitation,  at  least 
in  one  house  of  the  legislature,  there  is  no  possibility 
that  any  document  drafted  by  the  convention  can  ever  be 
adopted  by  the  voters  of  the  state.  If  the  opposing  fac- 
tions in  the  convention  can  agree  upon  this  fundamental 
necessity,  and  at  present  this  does  not  seem  hopeful,  Chi- 
cago and  the  state  of  Illinois  may  acquire  a  taxation 
system  which  will  remove  the  handicaps  under  which 
the  city  peculiarly  and  the  state  to  a  less  degree  are  la- 
boring. 

Real  Estate  Bears  Undue  Tax  Burden 

Under  our  present  constitution  all  property  is  sup- 
posed to  be  taxed  uniformly  by  valuation.  The  propor- 
tion of  intangible  property  is  much  greater  now  than  it 
was  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  constitution.  The 
ease  with  which  this  property  passes  from  hand  to  hand, 
and  the  lack  of  necessity  for  identifying  any  individual 
with  ownership  of  intangible  property,  has  practically 
rendered  the  taxation  of  this  variety  of  property  impos- 
sible. At  the  present  time  much  more  than  75  per  cent 
of  the  revenues  of  the  state  and  municipalities  derived 
from  general  taxation  is  borne  by  real  estate,  and  most 
of  the  intangible  property  in  Illinois  entirely  escapes 

96 


apparently  the  recognized  tendency  in  the  drafting  of 
state  constitutions,  to  write  into  a  state  constitution  only 
such  limitations  upon  the  power  vested  in  the  state  legis- 
lature as  will: 

Equitable  Taxation  Requirements 

First,  require  taxation  to  be  uniform  upon  all  prop- 
erty of  the  class  taxed. 

Second,  require  that  all  exemptions  from  taxation 
shall  be  by  general  law  uniform  as  to  the  class  of  prop- 
erty exempted  and  at  all  times  subject  to  modification 
or  repeal  at  the  pleasure  of  the  legislature. 

Economic  conditions  rapidly  change,  and  the  history 
of  this  state,  with  its  marked  tendency  to  become  a  manu- 
facturing and  mercantile  state  rather  than  an  agricul- 
tural one,  demonstrates  the  wisdom  of  having  as  few 
hampering  restrictions  as  possible  upon  the  exercise  of 
the  fundamental  power  of  taxation  wrhich  is  essential  to 
taxation.  The  constitutional  limitations  preventing  the 
classification  of  property  and  preventing  the  imposing 
of  reasonable  income  taxes  must  be  removed,  and,  if  the 
new  constitution  be  adopted,  undoubtedly  will  be  re- 
moved. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  a  state  constitution  is 
not  a  grant  of  legislative  power  to  the  legislature  of 
the  state  but  is  merely  a  limitation  upon  the  legislative 
power  of  the  people,  which  by  election  is  vested  in  the 
legislature,  it  will  readily  be  apprehended  that  only 
those  limitations  upon  the  power  of  taxation  should  be 
written  into  the  constitution  that  are  essential  to  pre- 
serve the  liberties  of  the  citizen  and  prevent  abuse  of 
power.  It  is  coming  to  be  more  and  more  the  settled 
opinion  of  those  who  have  studied  these  subjects,  and  is 
the  continuance  of  the  state. 

Superfluities  and  Complexities 

Reorganization  of  local  governments  in  Chicago  is  an 
urgent  issue  created  by  increasing  taxes  without  improve- 
ment in  the  volume  and  quality  of  public  service,  by  em- 
barrassed public  finances,  public  dissatisfaction  with  the 
character  of  local  administration  and  frequent  clashes 
of  different  authorities  with  one  another.  The  problem 
of  unification,  which  for  many  years  has  been  under  dis- 

97 


cussion,  has  received  helpful  analysis  by  the  Chicago 
Bureau  of  Public  Efficiency,  which  has  pointed  out  that 
a  reform  program  should  contemplate  improvement 
under  existing  laws  and  constitutional  provisions,  under 
new  laws  passed  under  the  present  constitution,  and 
under  new  conditions  brought  about  by  extensive  modi- 
fication of  the  constitution  of  Illinois,  a  service  now  in 
progress  at  the  hands  of  the  constitutional  convention, 
which,  by  action  of  the  legislature,  was  called  together 
at  its  first  meeting  January  6,  1920. 

There  are  twenty-four  local  governments  exercising 
jurisdiction  in  Chicago  without  central  control  and  cen- 
tral responsibility,  not  counting  several  township  gov- 
ernments of  nominal  existence. 

The  structure  of  Chicago  as  an  organized  community 
shows  the  following  characteristics:  From  the  vote  of 
the  people  are  derived  the  executive  officers,  and  directly 
from  the  people,  too,  comes  the  municipal  court.  The 
municipal  government  appoints  the  board  of  education, 
the  public  library  board  and  the  municipal  tuberculosis 
sanitarium.  The  departments  constituting  the  city  gov- 
ernment actuated  by  the  mayor  and  city  council  num- 
ber about  twenty-five. 

Governments  and  Governments 

In  the  progress  of  this  political  analysis  the  observer 
now  fixes  his  attention  upon  other  sources  of  power  and 
he  sees  that  that  virtually  greater  Chicago,  that  is,  the 
political  organization  of  Cook  County,  gives  birth  to  a 
board  of  commissioners,  to  sundry  courts,  commissions 
and  institutions,  and  that  the  circuit  court,  constituting 
one  of  these  creations  of  the  voters  of  Cook  County,  is 
the  birthplace  of  the  South  Park  Commission,  which  em- 
braces various  vital  departmental  activities.  The  gov- 
ernment of  the  forest  preserves  is  a  separate  government 
with  the  members  of  the  County  Board  ex-officio  com- 
missioners, and  the  physical  limits  of  the  preserves  are 
coterminous  with  Cook  County.  The  observer  discovers, 
however,  to  his  surprise  as  he  further  seeks  an  under- 
standing of  that  complex  organism  known  as  the  govern- 
ment of  Chicago  that  the  remaining  two  great  park  sys- 
tems, namely,  West  Chicago  and  Lincoln  Park,  do  not 
derive  their  existence  directly  from  the  voters  of  Chicago, 

98 


or  from  the  voters  of  Cook  County  as  single  creative 
bodies,  but  from  the  governor  of  Illinois.  These  two 
park  boards  have,  of  course,  their  own  extensive  internal 
organization. 

The  analyzing  observer  of  the  governmental  situation 
in  Chicago  now  discovers  that  when  this  city  accom- 
plished its  big  feat  in  engineering  and  sanitation,  revers- 
ing the  Chicago  River  and  uniting  Lake  Michigan  and 
Illinois  and  Mississippi  Rivers,  there  was  created,  to 
embrace  the  city's  own  ample  boundaries  within  it,  the 
Sanitary  District  of  Chicago  and  that  the  management  of 
this  district,  comprising  its  necessary  departments,  is  reg- 
ulated by  direction  of  the  voters  of  the  district.  Here 
is  found  a  sort  of  an  organized  municipality  working  for 
another  municipality  of  an  area  about  half  as  great. 

Have  we  now  exhausted  enumeration  of  the  elements  of 
political  Chicago?  We  have  not.  Voters  in  fourteen  dif- 
ferent and  distinct  petty  park  districts  select  governing 
commissions  of  the  same. 

A  Principle  of  Consolidation 

The  problem  of  municipal  consolidation  presents  two 
fundamental  questions,  namely,  what  should  be  the  terri- 
torial limits  of  the  unified  municipality,  and  what  gov- 
erning agencies  should  be  eliminated  and  how  should  the 
activities  be  combined  and  organized?  Seeking  here  to 
be  suggestive  rather  than  controversial,  it  may  be  said 
that  the  territorial  limits  of  the  unified  government  should 
be  the  same  as  the  metropolitan  community,  and  it  should 
include  all  contiguous  area,  especially  urban  in  charac- 
ter or  likely  soon  to  become  so,  having  municipal  inter- 
ests in  common.  Application  of  such  a  principle  would, 
of  course,  meet  with  suburban  resistance,  but  future  mu- 
nicipal progress  would  be  likely  to  make  practical  con- 
solidation more  easy  than  would  be  the  attempt  to  this 
end  today,  and,  as  the  Chicago  Bureau  of  Public  Effi- 
ciency well  says,  "by  the  time  consolidation  shall  be  leg- 
ally possible  the  natural  limits  of  the  reorganized  and 
unified  Chicago  may  be  more  clearly  apparent."  Within 
the  boundaries  of  the  district  outside  Chicago,  and  these 
boundaries  extend  on  the  north  to  include  Glencoe,  on 
the  south  to  include  South  Holland,  and  on  the  west  to 
include  Bellwood,  there  are  108  taxing  bodies,  not  in- 

99 


eluding  Cook  County  and  the  Sanitary  District.  These 
taxing  bodies  are  composed  of  five  cities,  namely,  Ber- 
wyn,  Blue  Island,  Evanston,  Harvey  and  West  Hammond, 
thirty-five  villages,  ten  park  districts,  fifty  school  districts 
embracing  eight  townships,  of  which  three  lie  partly  with- 
in the  present  city  limits.  Nine  townships  lie  partly 
within  and  without  the  proposed  city  limits,  that  is,  the 
area  within  the  Sanitary  District.  The  eight  townships 
lying  wholly  within  the  present  limits  of  Chicago,  that  is, 
Rogers  Park,  formerly  Evanston,  Hyde  Park,  Jefferson, 
Lake,  Lake  View,  North  Chicago,  South  Chicago  and 
West  Chicago,  having  only  formal  existence  could  also 
be  formally  abolished.  There  are  also  eleven  school  dis- 
tricts lying  partly  within  and  without  the  proposed  city 
limits. 

Obvious  Economic  Advantages 

In  the  matter  of  absorption  of  outlying  communities  in 
a  greater  Chicago  the  point  has  been  well  made  that  there 
is  a  distinction  between  mere  annexation  to  Chicago  of 
a  single  municipality  and  the  merger  into  one  effective 
government  of  all  urban  agencies  of  the  territory  natu- 
rally comprising  the  community.  Whatever  may  be  re- 
luctance even  to  consider  consolidation  now,  the  day  may 
come  when  this  argument  will  be  granted  of  paramount 
importance. 

A  city  made  coterminous,  say,  with  the  county  or 
within  the  lesser  boundaries  of  the  Drainage  District 
would  accomplish  the  elimination  of  great  overhead  ex- 
pense in  government,  that  is,  in  salaries  and  in  needless 
registrations,  primaries  and  elections.  The  present  tax- 
ation machinery  is  unsatisfactory  and  involves  an  enor- 
mous waste,  and  the  judicial  machinery  of  such  a  county 
and  city  as  now  organized  is  declared  to  be  on  the  whole 
conspicuously  inefficient  and  wasteful.  There  is  the  mu- 
nicipal court  of  Chicago  and  five  separate  independently 
organized  county  courts,  that  is,  the  circuit,  superior, 
county,  probate  and  criminal.  The  present  judicial  or- 
ganization and  procedure  lead  to  much  needless  annoy- 
ance, expense  and  delay.  There  are  six  separate  clerk's 
offices.  Consolidation  would  bring  economy  in  the  service 
of  deputy  sheriffs  and  deputy  bailiffs.  Important  sav- 
ing would  follow  in  jurors'  fees  if  there  were  but  one 

100 


court  instead  of  six,  for  the  reason  that  a  number  of 
judges  calling  for  jurors  as  they  are  required  would  not 
need  as  large  a  supply  as  if  each  judge  had  enough  to 
supply  him  alone,  because  the  judges  are  not  always 
trying  jury  cases.  A  smaller  number  of  jurors  supplying 
all  the  judges  would  be  required  than  if  each  judge  were 
required  to  keep  on  hand  his  full  quota. 

Prodigal  Duplication 

By  consolidation  also  would  be  saved  the  cost  of  sev- 
eral independent  legal  departments  involving  duplica- 
tion of  many  subordinate  positions.  In  these  depart- 
ments, quite  beyond  the  classified  civil  service,  spoils 
politics  plays  a  wasteful  and  inefficient  part.  Needless 
overhead  must  be  accounted  for,  too,  in  maintenance  by 
the  city's  several  governments  of  several  accounting 
agencies,  while  advantageous  purchasing  demands  a  cen- 
tral purchasing  department  and  standardization  of  equip- 
ment, material  and  supplies.  Enormous  is  the  combined 
buying  power  of  Chicago's  different  local  governments. 

Seventeen  different  park  governments  even  in  a  city 
as  great  as  the  world's  fourth  is  surely  a  prodigal  dupli- 
cation of  machinery  and  personnel;  and  the  traditional 
usages  of  a  conglomerate  not  a  unified  city,  with  prece- 
dent and  politics  still  ruling  strong,  must  soon  yield  to 
the  sway  of  economy  and  common  sense. 

The  ways  and  means  of  bringing  about  this  new  day 
may  become  the  substance  of  heated  civic  discussion  and 
bitter  political  campaigns,  but  simplification  of  Chicago's 
government  will  be  an  accomplishment  of  the  near  future, 
even  though  sundry  historic  boards  and  officers  disap- 
pear. It  is  the  estimate  of  those  who  have  studied  the 
unification  problem  intensively,  and  with  least  yielding  to 
partisanship,  that  consolidation  of  Chicago's  local  gov- 
ernments would  ensure  economies  aggregating  from 
$4,000,000  to  $5,000,000  annually.  The  fifty-ward  law 
is  coming  into  operation  with  an  expected  saving  of  more 
than  $500,000  in  election  expenses  every  other  year. 

Reforms  in  Progress 

Public-spirited  citizens  and  civic  and  business  organ- 
izations are  working  in  co-operation  to  secure  tax  re- 
forms, especially  improvement  in  methods  of  assessing 

101 


property;  the  short  ballot,  and  reduction  in  election  ex- 
penses. There  is  a  definite  movement  on  foot  to  secure 
for  Chicago  the  city  manager  form  of  government.  A  law 
has  been  passed  and  adopted  by  the  people  on  a  refer- 
endum vote  under  which  aldermen  in  Chicago  are  elected 
on  non-partisan  lines,  and  there  is  public  demand  for 
applying  this  same  system  of  election  to  the  mayor. 
Much  progress  has  been  made  in  curing  old  abuses  under 
which  custodians  of  public  funds  kept  for  themselves  or 
their  friends  large  portions  of  interest  earning  on  money 
in  their  possession.  Strict  accounting  is  now  required  by 
law  of  the  treasurer  of  the  city  of  Chicago  and  of  the 
treasurer  of  Cook  County. 


102 


CHICAGO  NEEDS  PROGRAM  OF 
RELIGION 


Challenge  of  the  Hour  Finds  Great  Communions  of  Prot- 
estantism    and     Roman     Cotholicism     Strong    of 
Purpose  and  with  Plans  of  Growth  to  Meet 
Wants  of  an  Urgent  Era 


An  irreligious  city  may  pass  the  way  of  Rome — a  city 
recognizing  the  supreme  power  of  religion  over  com- 
munities and  individuals  may  fail  in  its  struggle  with 
the  material  but  it  will  know  the  satisfactions  of  a 
spiritual  triumph  embodying  the  ideals  of  progress.  On 
October  10,  1871,  the  mayor  of  Chicago,  as  shown  in 
an  illustration  in  this  book,  proclaimed  that  the  head- 
quarters of  the  general  relief  committee  would  be  in  a 
church — as  it  happened,  a  Congregational  church  of  the 
West  Side.  True,  it  may  have  been  a  peculiarly  avail- 
able building,  but  it  is  not  without  point  to  observe  that 
it  was  from  a  church  that  stricken  Chicago  raised  the 
flag  of  succor  and  kept  faith  with  the  noblest  traditions 
of  Christendom.  A  corresponding  tower  of  strength  are 
the  churches  of  Chicago  today,  and  their  mission  and 
virtues  must  be  conserved  through  a  distinct  program 
of  development  if  this  wonderful  city  is  to  go  forward, 
mighty  of  spirit.  Seeking  community  of  thought  in  way 
of  discovering  tendencies  and  duties,  all  who  love  their 
city  and  believe  in  the  organized  manifestations  of  re- 
ligion will  read  with  profit  the  following  observations  of 
a  representative  of  many  Protestant  churches: 

Morality  and  Religion 

We  are  celebrating  three  hundred  years  of  progress  since  the 
Pilgrims  landed  at  Plymouth.  Every  student  of  history  knows  that 
the  fundamental  explanation  of  the  best  elements  in  the  life  of 
the  Nation  is  the  fact  that  those  men  and  women  laid  the  foun- 
dations of  our  best  life  and  most  beneficent  institutions  in  the 
Christian  faith,  and  sought  to  practice  their  convictions  in  con- 
sistent daily  living.  The  semi-centennial  celebration  of  the  Chi- 
cago fire,  with  its  striking  story  of  amazing  progress,  unparalleled 

103 


by  any  other  city  of  equal  population  in  a  similar  period  of  time, 
involves  the  very  same  elements  of  stability  and  strength  in  the 
character  of  the  builders  of  our  city  as  marked  that  of  the  Pil- 
grims. They  possessed  those  deeper  essentials  to  truest  advance- 
ment, allegiance  to  righteousness,  reverence  for  law  and  the  ap- 
praisement of  moral  and  spiritual  values  as  the  indispensable  and 
priceless  assets  of  the  city's  best  life. 

The  builders  of  Chicago,  acting  on  Washington's  familiar  em- 
phasis that  morality  is  impossible  without  true  religion,  set  about 
the  nurture  of  religious  institutions  and  the  development  of  those 
movements  in  education  and  philanthropy  which  are  its  hand- 
maids, together  with  those  organizations  which  seek  the  noblest 
aesthetic  culture,  as  the  flowering  out  of  the  love  of  the  beautiful 
which  always  co-ordinates  with  the  sense  of  truth  and  right  living. 
It  is  therefore  not  unnatural  to  note  that  the  old  First  Presby- 
terian Church  was  organized  in  Fort  Dearborn  itself  at  the  very 
beginning  of  our  civic  life.  The  fight  of  faith  was  to  go  hand  in 
hand  with  the  fight  for  liberty  and  order  in  making  a  city  in- 
creasingly wholesome  for  the  nurture  of  our  children  and  the 
finest  development  along  all  lines  of  progress. 

Christian  Ministrations 

The  free  church  and  the  free  school  have  always  gone  together 
in  vigorous  democracies,  and  beyond  the  grades  of  the  public 
schools  clear-visioned  and  large-minded  men  and  women  have 
seen  to  it,  long  before  state  institutions  of  higher  learning  were 
established,  that  great  universities  and  professional  colleges  should 
keep  pace  with  the  growing  needs  of  higher  education.  More- 
over, great-hearted  citizens  have  made  possible  those  splendid 
hospitals  which  minister  to  sickness  and  pain,  open  to  all  people 
regardless  of  race  or  creed,  such  as  Augustana,  the  Presbyterian, 
St.  Luke's,  Wesley  Memorial  and  dozens  of  others.  The  very 
commendable  many-sided  programs  of  the  Young  Men's  and  Young 
Women's  Christian  Associations  command  the  universal  respect 
and  the  eager  support  of  our  citizens  generally,  Christians  and  Jews 
uniting  in  their  encouragement.  They  touch  every  section  of  the 
city,  the  great  commercial  establishments,  the  large  manufactur- 
ing plants,  as  well  as  various  educational  institutions,  carrying  on 
a  program  adapted  to  the  needs  of  men  and  women,  boys  and 
girls,  in  physical,  mental  and  spiritual  culture. 

Our  churches  are  established  in  every  part  of  the  city,  minis- 
tering to  people  of  every  condition.  Their  representatives  seek 
to  apply  their  religious  principles  in  co-operation  with  all  others, 
of  whatever  faith,  and  are  found  on  such  boards  as  the  United 
Charities,  the  Council  of  Social  Agencies,  Children's  Home  and 
Aid  Societies,  etc.  They  carry  on  the  fruitful  work  of  the  Bible 
and  Tract  Societies,  and  send  their  representatives  into  the 
juvenile  courts  and  the  institutions  for  delinquent  and  dependent 
boys  and  girls,  as  well  as  men  and  women,  pointing  them  to  the 
way  of  another  chance.  In  recent  months  many  of  them  have 
been  specially  active  in  ministering  to  the  unemployed.  If  the 
complete  figures  were  at  hand,  the  total  would  be  amazing.  One 
church  alone  furnished  meals  for  75,000  people  during  the  last 
year.  Some  of  our  colored  churches  gave  41,000  meals  to  people 

104 


out  of  work  during  the  first  five  months  of  the  year.  The  Brother- 
hood House,  the  Chicago  Christian  Industrial  League,  Halsted 
Street  Institutional  Church,  Chicago  Commons,  Norh western  Uni- 
versity Settlement,  Marcy  Center,  Olivet  Institute,  Hull  House,  the 
Garibaldi  Institute  and  others  are  all  ministering  day  and  night 
along  lines  of  social  betterment,  Americanization,  etc. 

Demand  for  Adequate  Program 

As  we  face  the  future  we  are  conscious  of  the  widespread  em- 
phasis in  many  lands  of  the  "spiritual  slump"  marking  the  re- 
action from  war  conditions.  Chicago  has  not  escaped  this  re- 
action, noted  in  increased  juvenile  delinquency,  in  lax  ideas  con- 
cerning conventions  that  were  considered  almost  sacred  only  a 
few  years  ago,  in  a  growing  indifference  to  the  immoral  at- 
mosphere which  penetrates  modern  theatricals  as  never  before, 
in  the  complacent  neglect  of  the  institutions  of  religion  on  the 
part  of  many  who  were  loyal  until  recent  years. 

To  ignore  this  diagnosis  would  be  folly.  To  face  it  honestly, 
with  appreciation  of  the  fact  that  it  must  be  counteracted,  if  our 
society  is  to  retain  its  wholesome  character,  is  our  plain  and  un- 
escapable  duty,  as  we  value  our  heritage  and  realize  our  re- 
sponsibility for  the  generations  that  are  to  follow.  Our  fathers 
have  given  us  a  great  inheritance.  Shall  we  be  as  faithful  and 
generous  to  our  posterity?  No  lackadaisical  attitude  toward  our 
task  will  suffice.  The  worthy  citizens  of  Chicago  never  faced  a 
more  supremely  important  responsibility.  It  is  the  distinctive 
challenge  of  the  hour.  Shall  we  meet  it  with  courageous  deter- 
mination and  with  an  adequate  program?  Our  dream  of  main- 
taining and  elevating  the  ideals  of  our  people  will  be  nothing 
but  a  dream,  unless  we  accept  this  challenge  with  the  same  spirit 
of  the  "I  will"  attitude  which  has  achieved  big  things  along  so 
many  lines.  But  bigness  is  not  greatness,  for  true  greatness  is 
impossible  except  the  moral  fibre  of  the  city's  life  be  made  in- 
creasingly stronger  and  its  spiritual  aspiration  dominates  its  plans 
for  pleasure. 

Our  leaders  in  the  great  enterprises  of  the  city,  in  commerce, 
in  education,  in  art  and  every  activity  which  seeks  to  make  Chi- 
cago a  "city  beautiful"  in  its  external  growth,  need  to  get  to- 
gether in  serious  concern  for  the  sane,  strong  program  of  true 
religion  that  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  salvation  of  the  people, 
to  lives  of  integrity  and  loyalty,  to  high  ideals,  which  will  be 
revealed  in  something  of  that  spirit  of  sacrificial  service  which 
was  so  constantly  manifest  in  the  devotion  of  the  war  days.  This 
readiness  to  serve,  at  real  sacrifice,  in  places  of  official  respon- 
sibility, on  juries,  on  boards  of  welfare  organizations,  to  be  true 
to  the  obligations  of  citizenship  at  the  primaries  and  elections,  to 
appreciate  the  fact  that  every  man  or  woman  who  has  succeeded 
in  Chicago  owes  a  real  debt  to  Chicago,  which  can  only  be  paid 
by  seeking  to  serve  the  city's  welfare  in  some  actual  devotion  to 
its  higher  interests — this  readiness  is  the  first  essential  to  the 
fidelity  which  we  must  bring  to  the  solution  of  the  problem  as  to 
how  we  may  make  the  Chicago  of  the  future  something  even  finer 
and  nobler  than  it  has  been  in  the  past. 

105 


Let  it  be  urged  in  the  light  of  undeniable  history,  notwith- 
standing all  the  failures  of  the  institutions  of  religion,  that  these 
alone  have  developed  most  helpfully  the  culture  of  those  very 
gifts  and  graces  of  character  which  have  been  the  strength  and 
the  admiration  of  mankind,  evident  in  the  individual,  in  our 
sweetest  and  strongest  home  life,  and  in  the  truest  leadership  in 
the  best  hours  of  our  nation's  progress,  from  Washington  and 
Lincoln  to  the  present  time. 

First  Resident  Priest  in  1833 

In  the  twenty  centuries  of  history  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church  the  story  of  the  growth  of  this  faith  in 
Chicago  and  Illinois  forms  an  important  chapter.  From 
the  day  when  Father  Jacques  Marquette,  the  Jesuit  priest, 
and  two  companions  pushed  their  way  into  the  Chicago 
River,  the  march  of  the  Catholic  church  has  kept  pace 
even  with  the  marvelous  growth  of  Chicago  itself  and 
has  vitally  contributed  to  it.  As  the  business  and  civic 
leaders  of  Chicago  have  been  guided  by  their  vision,  so 
have  the  leaders  of  this  church  down  to  this  hour,  to 
the  administration  of  the  present  distinguished  head  of 
Chicago  Catholicism,  the  most  Rev.  Archbishop  George 
William  Mundelein. 

Chicago  received  its  first  resident  priest  in  1833  in 
the  person  of  Father  St.  Cyr,  and  ten  years  later  this 
place  was  selected  as  the  see  of  a  new  diocese  embrac- 
ing all  Illinois,  and  Bishop  William  Quarter  became 
Chicago's  first  Roman  Catholic  bishop.  The  institu- 
tional work  of  this  prelate  a  quarter  of  a  century  before 
the  great  fire  laid  the  foundation  for  the  present  wide 
activities  of  the  church,  including  parochial  schools, 
hospitals,  orphanages,  boys'  schools  and  universities. 
Bishop  Quarter  in  December,  1844,  secured  from  the 
Illinois  legislature  a  charter  for  the  University  of  St. 
Mary  of  the  Lake  and  established  that  institution.  Its 
successor  today  now  under  construction,  and  as  planned 
by  the  present  archbishop,  is  to  be  the  greatest  Catholic 
educational  institution  in  the  West,  if  not  in  all  America. 

In  the  great  fire  the  losses  of  the  church  were  esti- 
mated to  be  about  $1,000,000,  the  properties  including 
churches,  convents,  asylums  and  schools,  the  labor  of 
years  of  courage,  sacrifice  and  piety.  Among  these 
institutions  destroyed  were  St.  Paul's  church,  parsonage 
and  school,  on  the  West  Side;  St.  Louis  church  and 
rectory,  the  Christian  Brothers'  academy,  the  convent  and 

106 


school  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  St.  Mary's  cathedral  on 
the  South  Side,  the  Holy  Name  cathedral  and  bishop's 
home,  the  House  of  Providence,  the  academy  of  the 
Sisters  of  Charity,  St.  Joseph's  orphan  asylum,  the 
Christian  Brothers'  parochial  school,  the  convent  and 
school  of  St.  Benedict,  St.  Joseph's  church  and  the 
Benedictine  Fathers'  monastery,  the  Magdalen  asylum, 
the  Church  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  St.  Michael's 
church  with  the  convents  and  schools  attached  to  these 
churches,  on  the  North  Side. 

Rising  Heroically  from  the  Fire 

But  among  the  builders  arose  the  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas 
Foley,  young,  vigorous  and  capable,  and  restoration  be- 
gan in  the  re-erection  of  fine  academies,  colleges,  schools 
and  church  edifices,  which,  as  a  local  historian  declares, 
were  among  the  chief  ornaments  of  the  Chicago  that  had 
passed  in  flame.  It  is  noteworthy  that  St.  Ignatius,  at 
Roosevelt  Road  and  May  Street,  which  had  been 
founded  and  opened  a  year  before  the  fire,  and  the 
parent  school  of  the  present  Loyola  college,  being  out 
of  the  path  of  the  flames,  was  spared. 

Fifty  years  have  passed  and  this  is  the  significant 
growth  of  the  Catholic  church  in  Chicago  as  officially 
indicated  by  its  authorities: 

1921  1872 

Catholic  churches  in  Chicago 227  28 

Diocesan  priests    643  138 

Priests  of  religious  orders 350  31 

Parochial  schools    202  23 

Pupils  in  parochial  schools 130,000  10,000 

High  schools    22  

Pupils  in  high  schools 2,172  

The  above  statistics  measure  only  in  part  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Catholic  church  in  Chicago  whose  funda- 
mental is  religion,  but  whose  activities  reach  out  into 
education,  charitable  work,  orphanages,  hospitals,  social 
work  and  civic  betterment. 

Chicago's  Catholic  population  today  is  declared  to  be 
1,200,000.  In  1880  the  diocese  became  an  archdiocese. 

Archbishop's  Great  Educational  Plan 

The  plans  for  the  future  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church 
in  Chicago  are  indeed  spacious,  commensurate  not  only 

107 


M 

' 


« 


a 


108 


with  its  achievements  in  Chicago,  but  with  its  vast  deeds 
for  civilization  throughout  the  world. 

The  great  educational  plan  of  Archbishop  Mundelein, 
which  is  definitely  and  rapidly  unfolding,  centers  about 
the  University  of  St.  Mary  of  the  Lake,  the  seat  of  which 
is  being  erected  on  a  1,000-acre  tract  on  the  shore  of 
St.  Mary  Lake  at  Area,  near  Libertyville,  about  forty 
miles  from  the  heart  of  the  Loop.  On  this  site  the 
divinity  school,  including  the  colleges  of  philosophy  and 
theology,  are  to  stand,  with  the  administration  building, 
chapel,  dormitories,  power  houses,  library,  recreation 
halls  with  terraced  lawns,  roads  and  bridges,  to  cost 


Dormitory  units  at  St.  Mary  of  the  Lake  Theological  Seminary. 

Permission    of   Joe   W.   McCarthy,   architect. 

some  $10,000,000  now  under  construction,  the  school  of 
philosophy  being  ready  for  occupancy. 

The  university  departments  of  De  Paul  and  Loyola, 
already  well  established,  and  of  the  new  college  for 
women — Rosary  college — under  construction  in  River 
Forest,  are  to  be  a  part  of  the  great  university,  each 
functioning  as  a  separate  unit,  but  with  the  degree-con- 
ferring power  centering  in  the  University  of  St.  Mary 
of  the  Lake. 

The  Quigley  Memorial  seminary  on  the  near  North 
Side  is  the  preparatory  school  for  the  divinity  school. 
The  present  large  number  of  high  schools  for  girls  and 
for  boys,  scattered  about  the  city,  is  being  added  to  and 
uniformly  graded  so  as  to  be  preparatory  schools  for 
the  other  colleges  of  the  university.  Practically  every 
parish  has  its  parochial  school,  from  which  the  pupils 
are  graduated  into  the  high  schools,  the  completed  sys- 

109 


tern  taking  the  child  from  the  primary  grade  on  until 
his  or  her  degree  has  been  won. 

Benevolent  Work  of  Roman  Church 

The  church's  system  of  charities  has  been  developed 
into  the  Associated  Catholic  Charities,  an  organization 
formed  three  years  ago  by  the  archbishop,  and  whose 
contributing  membership  is  co-personnel  with  the  mem- 
bership of  the  church  itself.  A  great  fund  is  raised 
annually  from  contributions  taken  up  in  every  church, 
and  distributed  through  the  Central  Charities  Bureau, 
under  the  direction  of  Rev.  Moses  Kiley,  selected  by  the 
archbishop  and  trained  for  the  work.  In  this  distribu- 


Chapel  of  St.  Mary  of  the  Lake 

Permission  of  Joe  W.  McCarthy,  architect 

tion  the  agency  largely  used  is  the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul 
Society,  for  many  years  the  central  organized  charity 
agency  of  the  church. 

These  funds  are  divided  about  equally,  one  part  going 
toward  the  support  of  the  many  orphanages,  old  people's 
homes,  training  schools,  of  which  St.  Mary's  institution 
at  Desplaines  is  the  largest;  schools  for  the  deaf  and 
dumb,  hospitals,  girls'  homes  and  similar  institutions. 
The  other  part  is  used  in  personal  and  family  relief 
work. 

Welfare  work  is  carried  on  through  many  organiza- 

110 


tions  of  men  and  women,  each  doing  a  definite  part  in 
the  general  plan.  Perhaps  the  more  important  and 
effective  forms  which  this  work  takes  is  that  of  the  Big 
Brothers,  an  activity  delegated  to  the  Holy  Name  Society, 
for  the  reclaiming  of  wayward  boys;  the  Big  Sisters  for 
the  reclaiming  of  girls,  the  Protectorate  of  the  Catholic 
Woman's  League  and  other  similar  organizations  whose 
agents  patrol  the  railway  stations  to  protect  girls,  look 
after  the  homes  for  working  girls  and  similar  work. 

More  than  fifty  charitable  and  welfare  institutions,  in- 
cluding day  nurseries,  and  also  fifteen  hospitals,  are  be- 
ing supported  in  whole  or  in  part,  and  are  given  super- 
vision and  aid  through  the  Associated  Catholic  Charities, 
and  by  the  varied  associations  of  laymen  and  women, 
all  working  under  the  direction  of  the  church,  and  fol- 
lowing plans  of  the  archbishop. 

Here  and  There  in  Chicago's  Church  Work 

The  world's  most  cosmopolitan  great  city  should  have 
and  does  have  the  churches  of  all  races  and  creeds,  the 
Christian  church  predominating,  although  the  presence 
of  Jewish  synagogues — distinguished  looking,  too — 
marks  that  age-old  faith.  The  two  best  known  Jewish 
temples  are  Sinai,  whose  eminent  leader,  Dr.  Emil  G. 
Hirsch,  has  celebrated  his  forty-first  anniversary  as 
rabbi,  and  Temple  Sholem,  whose  leader,  Dr.  Abram 
Hirschberg,  is  to  celebrate  his  silver  jubilee. 

A  21-story  building  on  the  same  site  is  to  supplant 
the  old  First  Methodist  church  building  at  Clark  and 
Washington  Streets,  having  the  distinction  now  of  being 
the  only  church  in  the  Loop  district. 

Architecturally  speaking,  probably  the  most  notable 
church  edifice  in  Chicago  is  the  First  Presbyterian,  and 
the  most  beautiful  chapel  or  church  of  the  Roman  com- 
munion is  the  Quigley  Memorial  preparatory  seminary. 
In  this  connection  should  be  mentioned  the  beautiful 
St.  Mary  of  the  Lake  Roman  Catholic  church  on  the 
North  Side,  dedicated  by  the  archbishop  four  years  ago. 

Lutheranism  was  founded  in  Chicago  as  long  ago  as 
seventy-five  years,  the  pioneer  community  being  that  of 
the  First  St.  Paul's  Evangelical  Lutheran  church  on  the 
North  Side. 

Of  the  inter-denominational  churches,  of  which  Chi- 
lli 


cago  has  not  a  few,  a  representative  organization  is  the 
Moody  Bible  Institute.  Chicago  has  sixteen  Christian 
Science  churches,  two  recently  having  been  dedicated 
and  free  from  debt.  There  are  three  Greek  Catholic 
churches,  the  population  to  which  they  minister  being 
about  25,000,  and  there  is  also  a  Russian  Orthodox 
church. 


112 


SOCIAL  WELFARE 


Advanced    Policies,    Practical    and    Humane,    to    Govern 

Administration  of  Chicago's  Charities,  and  Greater 

Conservation  of  the  Family  Will  Be  Attained 


One  of  the  fundamental  problems  of  Chicago — of  civ- 
ilization, indeed — is  the  efficient  public  application  of 
private  philanthropy.  In  ten  years  Chicago's  charitable 
organizations,  accepting  the  standardizing  and  co-ordinat- 
ing service  of  the  Subscriptions  Investigating  Committee 
of  The  Chicago  Association  of  Commerce,  have  shown  a 
steady  and  remarkable  growth,  and  today  220  organiza- 
tions, practically  all  of  Chicago's  organized  charitable, 
philanthropic  and  civic  organizations,  conform  to  certain 
business  principles  and  seek  popular  support  in  accord- 
ance with  methods  defined  by  this  committee. 

The  management  of  the  vast  network  of  charitable  and 
philanthropic  bodies  is  coming  into  the  hands  of  capable 
business  men  and  women  who  are  devoting  far  more 
time  and  feeling  to  these  obligations  of  an  organized 
society  than  at  any  previous  time.  Executive  heads  of 
these  relief  organizations,  charitable  and  philanthropic, 
take  a  personal  interest  in  sound  methods  of  administra- 
tion, and  expert  public  accountants  scrutinize  institutional 
finances  and  prepare  an  annual  report  and  balance  sheet 
for  practically  all  of  the  charities  of  Chicago. 

Central  Council  of  Social  Agencies 

As  the  latest  progressive  step  in  philanthropic  service 
there  has  come  into  existence  the  Central  Council  of 
Social  Agencies,  with  purpose  to  promote  the  hisrhest 
possible  degree  of  co-operation  among  the  city's  philan- 
thropic societies.  The  co-operation  of  the  council  and  the 
aforesaid  committee  of  business  men  working  in  har- 
mony has  brought  about  a  closer  correlation  of  the 
work  of  the  charitable  bodies  and  has  prevented  much 
superfluous  and  costly  effort. 

Chicago's  charities,  having  taken  on  principles  of  busi- 
ness administration,  without  loss  of  the  hallowed  spirit 
of  philanthropy,  are  now  by  nature  of  their  organiza- 
tion and  the  interest  and  good  will  of  the  public  pre- 
pared to  adopt  advanced  methods  and  higher  levels  of 

113 


service  in  their  field  of  activity,  and  under  such  conditions 
many  of  the  serious  errors  and  unsound  policies  which 
have  characterized  charities  of  some  other  cities  will 
be  avoided.  Here  will  be  carefully  studied  the  best 
programs  which  have  been  approved  in  other  places,  and 
only  Chicago's  particular  needs  will  determine  their 
adoption  here. 

Chicago  Charity  Plan 

It  may  be  remarked  with  emphasis  that  the  final  adop- 
tion of  any  scheme  will  be  characterized  as  the  "Chicago 
Charity  Plan."  Under  this  plan  state,  county  and  city 
will  gradually  undertake  larger  service  and  the  stand- 
ards of  service  on  the  part  of  public  bodies  will  improve. 
This  program  will  relieve  the  financial  strain  on  private 
charity,  and  funds  will  thereby  be  released  for  wise  ex- 
perimentation in  fields  of  private  philanthropy.  Organ- 
izations such  as  the  Elizabeth  McCormick  Memorial 
Fund,  the  Chicago  Community  Trust,  the  A.  A.  Sprague 
Memorial  Fund,  the  Psycopathic  Hospital  and  similar 
organizations  will  be  enabled  greatly  to  modify  the  pol- 
icies and  administrations  of  many  of  the  private  and  pub- 
lic organizations.  In  the  future,  health,  safety  first  and 
thrift  campaigns  will  all  have  their  immediate  bearing 
on  the  scope  and  character  of  work  of  existing  phil- 
anthropic organizations. 

A  certain  solicitude  and  tenderness  of  the  personal 
kind  will  qualify  the  systematic  and  thorough  efforts 
made  by  churches,  lodges,  schools,  community  centers, 
clubs  and  societies  to  combat  the  sense  of  isolation  or 
friendlessness  that  characterizes  the  lives  of  vast  metro- 
politan multitudes.  In  the  future  perhaps  more  than  now 
will  be  nurtured  the  spirit  of  neighborliness  even  when 
Chicago's  people  number  5,000,000,  7,000,000  or  10,- 
000,000.  A  gigantic  task,  but  a  city  of  exceptional  pur- 
pose will  try  more  than  ever  to  keep  alive,  to  unify  and 
make  productive  a  strong  community  spirit.  The  organ- 
izations in  the  great  cities  will  have  corresponding 
branches  and  affiliated  bodies  in  every  city  and  village 
in  the  country,  and  those  who  come  from  farm  and  vil- 
lage will  find  organized  friends  to  lend  moral,  physical 
and  mental  relief  in  the  first  few  weeks  of  solitude  in  a 
huge  community. 

In  the  future,  whatever  the  advances  of  the  past,  Chi- 
114 


cage  will  not  be  satisfied  with  a  social  service  and  civic 
program  merely  negative  or  palliative.  It  will  be  a  fixed 
principle  characterizing  the  city  as  a  whole  to  provide 
ways  to  lift  human  life  to  its  highest  possible  plane  of 
efficiency.  In  search  for  this  end  more  sound  industrial 
policies  will  be  realized  to  remove  from  the  worker  the 
fear  of  unemployment  and  to  stimulate  every  citizen  to 
do  his  best  with  his  endowment.  It  will  be  the  aim  of 
that  new  Chicago  to  find  work  congenial  and  sufficient  for 
all. 

Relief  Policies  of  the  Future 

Work,  worship,  play  and  elevated  and  competent  fam- 
ily life,  these  four  things  will  give  to  Chicago  the  highest 
type  of  American  citizenship.  These  words  seem  of 
the  nature  of  a  "dream,"  but  those  in  social  welfare 
work  who  look  upon  disease,  poverty  and  crime  as  these 
conditions  are  seen  in  their  steadfast  service  are  not 
despondent,  although  the  state  of  the  "other  half"  some- 
times may  strain  their  faith  in  the  potency  of  the  ideal. 
An  authority  in  Chicago  charities,  a  man  of  patience, 
compassion  and  moral  fortitude,  says  this: 

The  foundation  of  the  highest  civilization  that  has  yet  been 
reached  is  the  family,  and  the  abnormal  homes  which  now  exist 
in  Chicago  threaten  the  very  life  of  the  city;  for  from  those  homes 
come  the  feeble-minded,  the  insane,  the  delinquent  boys  and  girls 
who  develop  into  the  inefficient  or  unambitious  working  men  and 
women,  and  the  criminals. 

The  workers  in  the  charity  field  have  an  entree  to  many  of 
these  homes,  and  they  see  what  most  of  us  have  only  read  about. 
The  ideal  of  these  workers  is  not  only  to  keep  the  poor  from 
starving  and  freezing,  but  to  restore  normal  family  life  to  every 
home  in  which  they  enter.  The  poor  need  so  much  more  than 
they  ask  for — they  ask  for  bread  when  what  they  need  is  sanitary 
surroundings,  medical  attention,  suitable  employment,  proper 
food,  ambition  for  themselves  and  their  children.  To  give  the 
poor  money  is  easy,  but  to  give  them  increased  interest  in  life 
and  a  desire  to  develop  and  to  live  normally  is  not  easy — hard  as 
it  is,  it  is  the  ideal  of  the  charity  visitor. 

And  that  ideal  must  be  realized,  for  society  cannot  stand  and 
Chicago  cannot  succeed  if  thousands  of  abnormal  families  are 
permitted  to  continue  to  exist  in  its  heart  and  produce  the 
delinquent,  the  criminal,  the  inefficient,  the  unambitious,  the 
feeble-minded,  and  the  insane. 

Care  of  the  Child 

Another  distinguished  worker  in  the  charities  stresses 
the  possibilities  of  the  future  for  a  clearer  understanding 

115 


of  the  ramifications  of  the  subject  generally  known  as 
"child  care"  or  "child  welfare."  He  points  out  that 
more  and  more  the  community  should  understand  the 
various  services  provided  for  the  direct  and  indirect  pro- 
tection of  childhood,  and  the  future  should  interpret 
more  thoroughly  the  service  of  these  agencies  in  terms 
of  better  child  life.  The  future,  too,  must  provide  a 
clear  definition  of  the  fields  of  service  of  each  and  every 
agency  to  reduce  overlapping.  It  is  believed  by  such  stu- 
dents and  workers  that  probably  the  greatest  force  for 
the  strength  of  the  race  will  be  found  in  the  preventive 
service  applied  to  childhood  and  child  life,  and  industry 
may  join  hands  with  social  service  to  this  end.  Few  will 
disagree  that  the  education  of  both  fathers  and  mothers 
in  the  progressive  steps  of  infant  welfare  should  farther 
and  farther  permeate  this  community  and  so  lessen  infant 
mortality  and  defective  childhood.  It  is  the  belief  of  not 
a  few  that  eugenics  in  a  few  years  will  have  its  favorable 
effect  upon  the  race,  and  that  public  opinion  will  more 
and  more  support  the  regulation  of  marriage,  and  that 
even  more  drastic  measures  may  be  resorted  to  for  con- 
servation of  social  welfare. 

The  prophets  of  today,  who  are  also  the  workers  in 
philanthropy,  foresee  that  many  types  of  prevention  will 
be  applied  to  the  human  race,  and  that  these  in  a  few 
years  will  greatly  reduce  the  results  of  human  inferiority 
which  must  now  be  cared  for  by  the  philanthropic  public, 
results  which  are  not  only  a  financial  drain,  but  bring 
misery  beyond  words. 


116 


EDUCATION  AND  THE  FUTURE 


A  New  Day  in  Public  School  Instruction — Northwestern 

University   Plans    City   Campus   for   Professional 

Schools — University  of  Chicago  Projects 

Great  Building  Enterprises 


What  Chicago  shall  become  in  the  next  half  century 
in  knowledge,  ideals  and  practical  accomplishments  will 
be  determined  much  by  the  service  of  its  public  schools, 
its  church  and  other  schools,  and  its  institutions  of 
higher  learning.  In  the  public  schools  is  the  strength 
of  the  republic,  and  no  more  important  educational  lab- 
oratory exists  than  the  schools  of  cosmopolitan  Chicago. 

More  and  more  are  the  schools  compelled  to  look  to 
trade  and  manufacture  for  the  ideals  and  processes  by 
which  education  may  be  achieved.  Education  is  becom- 
ing standardized  along  the  mechanical,  industrial  and 
commercial  lines,  while  heretofore  it  was  standardized 
along  lines  of  classical  book  study.  Idols  of  the  classi- 
cist of  former  days  are  being  displaced  and  less  and  less 
value  is  likely  to  be  given  to  the  purely  book  form  of 
education.  Educators  foresee  that  during  the  years  of  the 
near  future  schools  will  give  increasing  emphasis  to  the 
material,  and  some  hold  the  prospect  to  be  that  more 
and  more  will  the  local  unit,  that  is  town  or  city,  tend  to 
become  absorbed  by  larger  unit — state  and  nation — in 
the  support  and  control  of  education.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances there  will  be  possible  a  greater  increase  in 
school  activities.  Continuation  schools,  providing  for 
those  not  able  to  complete  their  education  in  the  regular 
day  schools,  and  also  to  instruct  and  train  industrial 
classes  to  prepare  workmen  for  higher  and  better  posi- 
tions will  be  established  at  convenient  and  accessible 
points  throughout  Chicago  instead  of  at  two  or  three 
places  as  now. 

Technical  High  Schools  for  Girls 

More  attention  can  be  given  to  physical  education,  in- 
cluding not  only  games  and  other  recreations,  but  to 
scientific  correction  of  physical  defects  early  in  the  life 

117 


of  the  child,  this  serving  as  an  effort  to  prevent  recur- 
rence of  the  condition  found  when  we  went  into  the  great 
war,  when  many  of  our  young  men  were  discovered  phys- 
ically unfit.  There  must  come  erection  of  technical  high 
schools  for  girls  as  fully  equipped  and  as  convenient  as 
are  similar  schools  for  boys.  Chicago's  educational  sys- 
tem starts  with  the  kindergarten  and  logically  should  end 
with  the  full  college  course  and  degree,  but  at  present  two 
years  of  junior  college  work  only  are  given.  It  is  the 
belief  of  important  authorities  that  in  the  near  future 
there  should  be  a  completely  equipped  four-year  college 
in  Chicago  leading  to  the  degrees  of  bachelor  of  arts, 
bachelor  of  science  and  similar  degrees.  Experts  de- 
clare that  the  physical  development  of  childhood  into 
youth,  including  the  adolescent  changes,  seem  to  make 


A  Chicago  high  school  in  1921 

necessary  some  readjustment  of  our  present  scheme  of 
education,  and  there  is  a  prediction  that  the  future  holds 
a  reorganization  whereby  the  kind  of  educational  material 
used  and  the  method  of  its  use  will  change  at  the  end  of 
the  sixth  school  year,  and  an  entirely  different  content 
and  method  of  treatment  become  established  from  the 
seventh  to  the  ninth  and  tenth  school  year. 

Industrial   Education 

Into  the  field  of  education  has  come  a  new  ideal  and 
no  longer  is  it  thought  necessary  that  a  man,  in  order  to 
become  educated,  must  deal  with  books  alone.  It  is  be- 
coming accepted  that  education  may  be  acquired  also 
with  tools,  materials  and  physical  things,  and  all  the 
public  school  systems  of  this  country  are  recognizing  and 
emphasizing  the  value  of  what  may  be  termed  "industrial 
education."  The  high  school  of  today  is  not  that  of 
twenty  years  ago.  Then  there  was  no  equipment  for  study 

118 


of  the  sciences — physics,  chemistry,  botany,  zoology — 
and  no  shops  for  the  teaching  of  trades  or  other  elements, 
whereas  today  one  is  impressed  with  the  presence  of  lab- 
oratories and  shops  in  the  high  school  building  and  more 
and  more  have  grown  the  demand  for  activities  that  will 
truly  educate,  such  as  require  manual  dexterity  in  the 
handling  of  materials,  fibres,  textiles  and  metals,  activi- 
ties which  shall  also  express  in  concrete  form  ideals 
which  have  been  established  in  the  minds  of  students  and 
which  have  their  educational  value  in  the  utility  of  the 
product  as  well  as  in  the  training  of  the  brain  and  hand. 
The  planning  and  execution  of  educational  as  well  as  in- 
dustrial activities  tend  to  become  standardized  and  to 
yield  quantity  production.  The  day  of  isolated  school 
systems  is  passing. 

Association  of  Commerce  Will  Aid 

The  success  of  a  school  system  depends  upon  the  intel- 
ligent sympathy  of  the  people.  Chicago  in  recent  years 
has  been  much  benefited  by  this  circumstance.  The  pres- 
ent outlook  is  for  the  continuance  and  increase  of  co- 
operation. This  co-operation  will,  it  is  believed,  receive 
within  a  year  an  important  demonstration  on  the  part  of 
the  Committee  on  Education  of  The  Chicago  Association 
of  Commerce,  which  will  submit  for  public  consideration 
the  result  of  long  study  of  the  American  problem  of  edu- 
cation in  the  related  elements  of  city,  state  and  nation. 

Since  1846  fifty-one  new  activities  have  been  under- 
taken by  the  Chicago  school  system.  Music  came  in  1847 
and  German  in  1865;  crippled  children  became  recog- 
nized in  1900  and  then,  too,  were  baths  and  the  blind 
thought  of;  in  1909  vacation  schools  and  the  industrial 
arts  were  new  activities;  in  1911  vocational  guidance 
secured  attention  and  in  1916  the  teaching  of  commerce 
and  administration;  in  1917  Americanization  recognized 
the  alien,  and  also  out  of  war  came  in  the  same  year  the 
cadet  corps  and  school  gardens.  Chicago's  necessities 
and  Europe's  example  set  continuation  schools  going  in 
1918,  and  in  1919  and  1920,  respectively,  the  physical 
welfare  movement  begat  summer  camps  and  athletic 
directors.  Its  need  for  service  to  its  410,768  enrolled 
pupils  is  more  revenue. 

The  yearly  increase  in  cost  of  operating  the  Chicago 

119 


schools  is  $2,000,000,  and  the  current  budget  is  $28,000,- 
000.  The  cost  of  free  text-books  will  be  $1,500,000  the 
first  year.  Chicago  has  more  pupils  per  teacher — and 
there  are  9,700  classroom  teachers — than  any  city  of 
comparable  size  except  Philadelphia.  While  teachers 
receive  more  salary  than  in  1910-11,  salary  still  bears 
the  same  relation  to  the  per  capita  cost  of  education  that 
it  did  then. 

School  Building  Program 

Physical  growth  of  the  school  system  may  be  indicated 
as  follows: 

Three  elementary  schools  are  just  being  completed  at 
an  approximate  cost  of  $500,000  each.  Construction  has 
been  ordered  on  eighteen  elementary  schools  at  a  cost 
of  about  $500,000  each,  and  construction  has  also  been 
ordered  on  two  high  schools  at  approximately  $1,250,- 
000  each.  Additions  to  four  high  schools  have  been 
ordered.  It  is  expert  opinion  that  Chicago  should  have 
in  the  very  near  future  at  least  twenty-five  more  buildings 
for  elementary  schools  and  four  more  buildings  for  high 
schools. 

The  education  that  will  be  provided  in  the  future  by 
our  public  schools,  universities  and  colleges  will  undoubt- 
edly be  of  such  character  that  it  will  produce  the  type  of 
trained  youth  whose  product  and  service  will  enable 
America  to  compete  more  successfully  with  the  nations 
of  Europe  and  Asia  in  the  markets  of  the  world. 

Acclaimed  by  administration,  alumni,  students  and 
public  as  a  man  of  learning  and  leadership,  Dr.  Walter 
Dill  Scott  became  inaugurated  this  year  as  president  of 
Northwestern  University,  and  at  once  strengthened  official 
purpose  and  general  interest  in  development  of  new  and 
great  university  projects  not  as  part  of  the  campus  at 
Evanston,  but  near  the  edge  of  the  expanding  business 
district  of  Chicago. 

Founding  of  Northwestern  University 

In  1850  a  group  of  devout,  resolute  and  far-seeing 
men  met  to  establish  Northwestern  University,  and  at 
the  time  when  no  degree  of  higher  learning  had 
ever  been  granted  in  Chicago  or  at  any  place  in  the 
United  States  north  and  west  of  this  city.  At  that  time 
only  as  many  people  lived  in  Chicago  as  live  in  Evanston 

120 


today,  yet  that  group  of  educational  pioneers  had  faith 
in  the  Chicago  of  1850,  believed  that  it  would  become  a 
great  metropolis  and  planned  their  projected  university 
accordingly.  They  purchased  380  acres  of  land  as  a  site 


fin 


^o^*. -' '       v 


Projected   medical   group   of   assembled   Chicago    schools    of 
Northwestern   University. 

Permission   of  University   authorities  and    Holabird   &   Roche,  architects. 

121 


and  laid  the  foundation  for  a  university  equipped  to 
render  service  to  the  growing  city.  From  the  year  of  the 
Chicago  fire  to  the  present  day  the  attendance  at  North- 
western has  increased  each  decade  about  three  times  as 
fast  as  the  growth  of  Chicago  in  population  and  the 
growth  of  Chicago  has  been  a  wonder. 

Great  Building  Program   of  Northwestern 

It  is  the  belief  of  the  authorities  of  Northwestern  Uni- 
versity that  with  the  passing  of  the  pioneer  days  and  the 
development  of  a  great  world  city,  the  educational  re- 


Projected  Chicago  buildings  of  Northwestern  University  to  form 
group  and  campus  on  north  shore. 

Permission  of  University   authorities  and   Holabird   &   Roche,   architects. 

quirements  of  the  university  will  continue  to  increase 
three  times  as  fast  as  the  population  of  the  Chicago  dis- 
trict. Held  by  the  successors  of  the  determined  founders 
that  this  measure  of  growth  will  hold  true  and  therefore 
to  permit  the  university  to  increase  three  times  as  fast  as 
the  metropolis  there  must  be  made  at  once  provision  for 
extensive  expansion.  Accordingly  the  university  authori- 
ties have  bought  nine  acres  of  land  on  the  lake  shore 
four  blocks  north  of  the  Municipal  Pier,  where  they  ex- 
pect to  place  the  institution's  medical  school,  law  school, 
dental  school,  school  of  commerce  and  school  of  journal  - 

122 


ism.  It  is  hoped  to  erect  on  this  site  buildings  to  accom- 
modate as  many  as  10,000  students,  although  the  total 
registration  in  the  university  in  1921,  as  great  as  it  is,  is 
only  8,500.  It  is  believed  by  these  bold  and  patriotic 
educators  that  Chicago  is  to  become  a  great  educational 
center,  and  it  is  hoped  to  make  the  city  campus  of  the 
university,  located  in  the  heart  of  Chicago,  a  great  center 
for  all  forms  of  social  service,  and  the  dream  of  these 


-• 


Proposed  design  by  Bertram  C.  Goodhue,  architect,  for  University 
Chapel  of  the  University  of  Chicago.  The  noble  edifice  will 
probably  be  named  Rockefeller  Chapel.  It  will  face  the  Midway 
between  Woodlawn  Avenue  and  University  Avenue,  with  entrance 
on  Woodlawn. 

Permission    of    University    authorities. 

wise  men  contemplates  the  rising  here  of  great  hospitals, 
headquarters  for  charities  and  churches  as  well  as  educa- 
tional buildings.  One  of  the  ambitions  and  capacities 
of  the  university  relates  to  social  service  as  appears  in  the 
statement  of  the  fact  that  its  medical  and  dental  clinics 
in  Chicago  last  year  served  50,000  patients.  Now  these 

123 


Interior  of  forthcoming  University  Chapel,  University  of  Chicago. 

Permission   of  University   authorities.     Architect,    Bertram   G.   Goodhue. 

124 


friends  of  society  are  planning  a  greatly  enlarged  plant 
hoping  to  serve  hundreds  of  thousands  annually,  and  it 
is  hoped  to  make  this  prospective  city  institution  render 
to  the  greater  Chicago  a  distinct  and  eminent  service 
which  shall  be  characterized  by  the  practical  nature  of 
its  instruction  and  by  predominance  of  laboratories  and 
clinics.  The  spirit  animating  Northwestern  for  the  win- 
ning of  the  war  should  carry  far  its  projects  for  human 
betterment  in  an  era  of  peace. 

University  of  Chicago's  Thirty  Wonderful  Years 

Youngest  of  the  great  American  universities,  the  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago  in  thirty  years  of  remarkable  growth 
has  received  within  its  doors  87,000  students  and  its  an- 


Library  group  of  Midway  front,  University  of  Chicago,  as  designed 
by   Shepley,   Rutan   &  Coolidge,    architects. 

Permission    of    University    authorities. 

nual  enrollment  is  11,000.  Its  library  even  now  num- 
bers 1,000,000  books  and  its  assets  aggregate  $50,000,000. 
From  the  first  it  has  welcomed  women  both  as  students 
and  teachers,  and  in  its  school  of  education  it  has  one  of 
the  two  completely  organized  educational  laboratories  in 
the  world.  In  development  of  its  several  schools  in 
1916-1917  there  was  raised  for  medical  work  $5,461,000, 
but  the  entry  of  the  United  States  into  the  war  prevented 
the  immediate  execution  of  the  broad  plans  made  possible 
by  this  fund.  The  war  record  of  alumni,  students  and 
faculty  has  been  praiseworthy  indeed,  and  the  university 
was  an  important  training  center.  Four  thousand  three 
hundred  and  fifty-five  alumni  and  former  students  were 
in  service.  In  the  summer  of  the  winning  of  the  war 

125 


La  Verne  W.  Noyes  presented  to  the  university  property 
of  an  estimated  value  of  about  $2,000,000  for  establish- 
ment of  scholarships  for  those  who  had  served  under  «he 
American  flag  in  the  great  conflict  and  for  their  descend- 
ants. Hundreds  of  men  are  now  enjoying  its  benefits.  A 
distinguished  memorial  will  some  day  be  erected  in  the 
quadrangles  of  the  university  to  commemorate  the  service 
of  the  men  who  went  forth,  of  whom  seventy-two  gave 
up  their  lives. 

Medical  Development  Plans 

The  great  fund  for  medical  development  will  provide, 
first,  within  university  precincts  for  a  medical  school  of 
the  highest  grade;  second,  establishment  of  the  Rush 
Graduate  Medical  School  near  the  Presbyterian  hospital 
as  a  graduate  medical  school  for  practitioners,  and  third, 
extended  provision  for  special  medical  research.  As 
building  conditions  improve  the  university  will  take  up 
erection  of  these  proposed  buildings  and  execution  of  the 
whole  medical  program.  The  medical  building  program, 
large  as  it  is,  is  only  a  part  of  the  university  building 
program  as  a  whole,  the  execution  of  which  has  been  pre- 
vented by  the  war  and  industrial  conditions  following. 
There  are  to  be  buildings  for  administration,  for  theology 
and  for  a  divinity  chapel.  There  are  also  to  be  a  univer- 
sity chapel  and  a  new  club  house.  The  university  chapel, 
which  is  to  be  a  stately  Gothic  building  seating  more  than 
2,000,  will  be  erected  by  means  of  a  fund  of  $1,500,000 
set  apart  ten  years  ago  by  John  D.  Rockefeller,  university 
founder,  in  his  final  gift  of  $10,000,000.  This  chapel, 
surmounted  by  a  massive  tower  216  feet  high,  will  be 
the  dominating  feature  of  the  quadrangles  and  one  of  the 
most  impressive  buildings  of  its  kind.  An  academic  ave- 
nue of  unusual  distinction  is  to  become  the  university's 
possession  of  the  frontage  on  the  Midway  extending  for 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  on  both  sides  of  this  spacious 
boulevard. 

Institutes   for   Graduate  Work  in  Science 

Distinguishing  a  five-year  program  outlined  by  the 
university's  veteran  president,  Harry  Pratt  Judson,  in 
1920,  are  increases  of  salary  to  faculty  members,  a  step 
first  taken  in  1919,  and  development  of  the  graduate 
schools  for  investigation  of  the  basic  principles  of  pure 

126 


science  involved  in  important  problems  of  society  and  its 
industries.  Within  these  graduate  schools  will  be  organ- 
ized a  series  of  institutes,  the  first  being  that  of  physics 
and  chemistry,  with  necessary  building  and  equipment, 
requiring  building  funds  or  an  endowment.  The  second 
institute  will  be  that  of  plant  agriculture  and  here  will  be 
trained  men  in  the  fundamental  science  of  agriculture, 
and  it  will  be  notably  advanced  work.  Here  again  many 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  will  be  required.  The 
third  institute  will  be  that  of  mining,  also  for  advanced 
work,  and  requiring  several  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
The  fourth  institute  will  be  that  of  the  science  of  educa- 
tion and  will  call  for  liberal  endowment.  Indeed,  in 
establishment  of  these  institutes  there  will  be  necessary 
new  endowments  amounting  to  $3,000,000,  while  for  the 
new  buildings  will  be  required  $1,250,000.  To  meet  the 
growing  needs  of  the  great  library  and  the  need  of  class- 
rooms, and  to  provide  an  adequate  administration  build- 
ing and  residence  halls  for  both  women  and  men,  there 
will  be  required  not  less  than  $1,750,000.  The  total 
financial  requirements  of  the  university  within  a  five-year 
period  are  $10,000,000. 

University  Commissions 

A  new  feature  of  university  development  with  co- 
operation of  all  interests  is  to  be  the  appointment  of 
university  commissions,  fourteen  in  all,  one  from  each  of 
the  main  groups  of  university  interests.  On  each  commis- 
sion will  be  two  alumni,  a  university  trustee,  two  faculty 
members  and  two  or  more  citizens.  The  duty  of  each 
commission  will  be  to  study  the  work  of  its  particular 
school  or  group  of  interests  and  make  to  the  board  of 
trustees  suggestions  for  improvement.  The  university 
needs  scholarships  and  fellowships  and  many  depart- 
ments need  money  for  publication.  Each  journal  needs 
an  endowment  fund  to  insure  its  future.  Many  graduate 
students  upon  passing  their  doctor's  examination  find  that 
to  publish  their  theses  as  required  by  the  university  will 
cost  them  $500  or  more,  an  expenditure  for  which  ten 
years  of  study  has  not  prepared  them. 

The  university  has  been  active  in  the  Near  East,  the 
latter  released  from  Turkish  control,  in  the  field  of 
archaeology.  It  is  desired  to  establish  a  field  school  of 

127 


geology.  The  department  of  geography  hopes  to  organ- 
ize research  expeditions,  and  the  department  of  zoology 
plans  a  museum,  while  botany  needs  an  experimental 
garden,  laboratory  and  greenhouses.  By  the  invention  of 
Professor  Michaelson  of  the  university  a  twenty-foot 
interferometer  operating  in  connection  with  the  100-inch 
telescope  at  Mount  Wilson,  California,  there  was  meas- 
ured December  last  the  diameter  of  the  giant  star,  Betel- 
geuze,  which  is  learned  to  have  a  diameter  of  nearly 
300,000,000  miles,  or  300  times  that  of  the  sun.  Such 
is  astronomical  research  by  gifted  scientists  well 
equipped,  w7hile  one  of  the  world's  most  remarkable 
astronomical  equipments  is  the  property  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Chicago  in  the  Yerkes  observatory  at  Geneva  Lake, 
Wisconsin,  where  each  year  8.000  people  see  the  great 
40-inch  telescope  in  operation. 


128 


A  GREATER  CHICAGO'S  HEALTH 


Medical    Progress    and    Falling    Death    Rate    Encourage 
Confidence  in  Security  of  City  of  Tomorrow 


Man's  efficient  survival  is  measured  by  his  physical 
hardihood  and  his  practical  solution  of  the  complicated 
problem  of  health.  A  vigorous  future  is  promised  Chi- 
cago by  its  sanitary  progress  in  fifty  years.  The  death 
rate  of  1921  is  not  much  more  than  half  as  high  as  was 
that  of  1871,  when  it  was  20.87,  having  fallen  from  about 
25  per  thousand.  The  baby  death  rate  is  about  one-third 
of  that  of  the  Great  Fire  period.  The  span  of  human 
life  is  longer.  The  death  rate  of  children  from  1  to  4  is 
about  one-fourth  that  of  1871,  of  typhoid  fever  about 
one-fiftieth,  of  diphtheria  about  one-third,  of  scarlet 
fever  about  one-half,  of  consumption  about  one-fourth, 
while  smallpox  and  cholera,  a  great  menace  half  a  cen- 
tury ago,  no  longer  cause  deaths.  In  those  days  that  tried 
men's  souls  Chicago  had  an  evil  reputation  from  the 
health  standpoint,  whereas  today  its  public  health  status 
attracts  families  and  homes. 

Wonderful  has  been  the  progress  of  medical  science  at 
large  in  the  past  fifty  years,  embracing  introduction  of 
the  germ  theory  of  disease,  the  X-ray  and  application  to 
practice  of  the  microscope  and  laboratory.  Almost  the 
entire  list  of  vaccines,  anti-toxins  and  serums  has  been 
discovered  and  come  into  use.  Surgery  has  progressed 
more  rapidly  than  other  branches  of  medicine,  but  none 
has  lagged  completely,  and  the  period  has  been  one  not 
only  of  dazzling  discovery  but  of  improvement  in  day-by- 
day  working  methods  as  well. 

Chicago's  Growth  as  Medical  Center 

And  the  next  fifty  years — and  Chicago?  There  will  be 
an  increase  in  the  number  of  great  hospitals  and  their 
aggregate  bed  capacity.  From  all  over  the  world  will 
come  graduate  and  undergraduate  students  for  research 
and  clinical  work,  and  post-graduate  schools  inviting 
medical  practitioners  from  everywhere  will  spread  the 
advances  of  medicine  to  numberless  localities.  Here  is 

129 


the  home  of  the  American  Medical  Association  and  of  the 
College  of  Surgeons,  and  place  of  issue  of  their  journals. 
Here  is  the  strategic  center  of  medicine.  Methods  of 
health  conservation  developed  in  Chicago's  department 
of  public  health  will  be  copied  elsewhere. 

Will  the  next  fifty  years  see  further  material  reduction 
in  Chicago's  death  rate?  There  are  trustworthy  authori- 
ties who  would  answer  in  the  negative,  believing,  indeed, 
that  the  rate  of  1920  or  1921  cannot  be  held;  but  on  the 
other  hand  the  same  authorities  contend  that  improve- 
ment of  health  in  the  next  fifty  years  will  equal  those  of 
the  past,  with  improvement  found  largely  along  lines  of 
increased  efficiency.  The  goal  must  be  to  have  men  work- 
ing at  full  efficiency  at  60  or  even  70  years,  and  as  the 
rule. 

Life  in  the  Greater  Chicago 

The  greater  Chicago,  say  the  far-seeing,  will  fifty 
years  hence  be  a  metropolitan  district  extending  at  least 
as  far  as  through  Michigan  City,  Kankakee,  Joliet, 
Aurora,  Elgin  and  Waukegan,  and  one  will  speak,  for  in- 
stance, of  the  Elgin  wards  of  the  Kankakee  subdivision. 
Improved  transportation  will  reduce  the  congestion  of 
metropolitan  population  by  permitting  the  people  in  in- 
dustries to  live  in  the  open,  and  this  will  make  for 
efficiency  through  good  health.  Some  believe  that 
there  will  not  be  any  change  in  the  present  move- 
ment of  population  toward  cities  and  that  man 
will  find  sustenance  in  synthetized  foods.  When  that 
time  comes  the  ground  can  all  be  given  over  to  the 
uses  of  habitation,  of  industry  and  things  pertaining 
thereto,  and  cities,  metropolitan  districts  or  industrial 
districts,  whatever  they  happen  to  be  called  at  that  time, 
will  be  proportionately  increased  in  size  and  develop- 
ment, and  this  will  not  mean  decrease  in  the  health  meas- 
ure. Man  has  shown  his  ability  to  protect  himself  and 
save  health  in  cities.  There  will  be  new  discoveries  and 
progressive  increase  in  the  efficiency  of  health  methods 
so  that  we  can  contemplate  the  growth  of  Chicago  in 
the  next  fifty  years  with  complacency. 

The  advances  of  that  new  day  will  have  proceeded 
from  the  sanitary  efforts  of  our  ancestors  of  the  seventies, 
when  the  very  high  death  rates  of  the  forties  and  fifties 

130 


had  fallen  because  of  better  drainage,  better  sewerage  and 
garbage  disposal  and  better  control  of  contagion.  Just 
after  the  fire  the  young  city  of  300,000  had  306  physi- 
cians, 5  medical  colleges  with  a  total  of  about  300  stu- 
dents, and  there  were  10  hospitals  with  a  total  of  perhaps 
1,000  or  more  beds. 

After  the  Great  Fire 

The  fire  destroyed  six  hospitals,  leaving  a  total  of  650 
beds  available  after  the  conflagration.  Within  a  few 
days  after  the  fire  all  relief  work  was  concentrated  under 
the  organization  formed  by  the  Relief  and  Aid.  One 
hundred  and  seven  people  perished  in  the  fire.  In  spite 


Death  rate  of   Chicago   per  1,000   of  population,   1871   to   1920, 
inclusive. 

Chart  drawn  by  Dr.  W.  A.  Evans. 

of  these  casualties  and  exposure  of  the  homeless  at  this 
terrible  period,  Chicago  had  a  lower  death  rate  in  Octo- 
ber of  1871  than  in  the  same  month  in  1870,  1872  or 
1873. 

The  liberalism,  community  spirit  and  genius  for  organ- 
ization born  out  of  the  great  disaster  soon  showed  itself 
in  public  health  work,  and  public  sentiment  began  to 
get  behind  efforts  for  the  improvement  of  the  city's  health 

131 


to  a  degree  never  known  before.  Much  of  the  money 
left  at  the  end  of  the  relief  period  was  used  to  endow 
beds  in  hospitals.  Two  examples  of  sanitary  progress 
appeared,  one,  in  the  removal  of  all  slaughter  houses 
from  the  district  bounded  by  Fullerton  Avenue,  Western 
Avenue,  Thirty-first  Street  and  the  lake,  and  in  prohibit- 
ing the  keeping  of  more  than  three  cows  in  a  city  lot.  To- 
day Chicago's  hospitals  are  licensed  by  the  health  depart- 
ment, numbering  75,  with  6,676  beds  available.  These 
institutions  do  not  include  homes,  places  for  convales- 
cents or  asylums.  Chicago  has  six  medical  colleges 
attended  by  1,736  undergraduate  students  and  has  at  least 
four  well-organized  post-graduate  schools  with  many  stu- 
dents each  year.  Besides,  there  are  a  few  institutions 
teaching  certain  medical  subjects  to  graduates. 

The  department  of  public  health  of  the  city  of  Chi- 
cago advises  that  during  the  past  six  years  notable  re- 
ductions have  been  made  in  Chicago's  death  rates  from 
the  principal  preventable  diseases.  For  example,  the 
death  rate  from  scarlet  fever  has  been  reduced  75  per 
cent ;  the  death  rate  from  typhoid  fever,  90  per  cent,  and 
through  the  combined  efforts  of  the  Municipal  Tubercu- 
losis Sanitarium  forces  and  those  of  the  department  of 
health,  the  deaths  from  tuberculosis  have  been  reduced 
practically  50  per  cent.  The  record  of  the  department's 
work  against  diphtheria,  however,  while  showing  a  com- 
mendable reduction  in  the  deaths  from  this  disease,  is 
far,  in  its  judgment,  from  being  satisfactory;  and  this 
despite  the  fact  that,  during  the  past  six  years,  there  has 
been  a  reduction  of  18^  per  cent  in  diphtheria  deaths 
and  for  the  last  three  years  32  per  cent. 

The  unsatisfactory  situation  as  to  diphtheria  is,  how- 
ever, common  to  other  large  cities.  There  is,  however, 
not  only  a  preventive  in  the  form  of  toxin-antitoxin,  but 
a  cure,  if  administered  soon  enough,  in  the  form  of  anti- 
toxin. It  is  because  the  parents  of  the  city  of  Chicago  do 
not  avail  themselves  of  these  known  and  approved  agen- 
cies that  Chicago  and  other  cities  in  America  have  not 
banished  this  disease. 

The  commissioner  of  health  is  now  appointing  a 
diphtheria  commission  to  study  the  situation  and  to  co- 
operate in  an  intensive  drive  against  this  dangerous  dis- 
ease of  childhood. 

132 


PUBLIC  SAFETY 


Chicago   Safety    Council   New   Organized   Force   for   Con- 
servation of  Life  and  Fire  Prevention 


Preservation  of  life,  limb  and  property  is  a  duty  of 
organized  government  whose  work  may  become  supple- 
mented by  private  initiative.  The  increasing  number 
of  fire,  industrial  and  traffic  fatalities  brought  about  in 
1920  the  organization  by  The  Chicago  Association  of 
Commerce,  in  conjunction  with  the  National  Safety  Coun- 
cil, of  the  Chicago  Safety  Council,  which  operates  as 
a  department  of  the  Association  and  is  the  local  repre- 
sentative of  the  national  body.  It  is  not  concerned  with 
profits,  politics,  nor  the  inducements  of  business.  It 
is  engaged  in  the  task  of  educating  the  people  of  the 
Chicago  district  in  safety  and  fire  prevention,  and  it 
also  concerns  itself  with  health,  sanitation  and  first  aid. 

It  had  become  time  to  set  up  principles  and  means  of 
safety.  In  1920  in  Chicago  and  the  remainder  of  Cook 
County  deaths  caused  by  accidents  were  1,982  men, 
women  and  children,  with  the  serious  injury  of  49,550. 
Of  these  deaths  497  were  of  children  under  sixteen  years 
of  age  and  542  deaths  were  caused  by  automobiles.  The 
gravity  of  the  industrial  phase  of  the  problem  is  shown 
in  the  fact  that  about  $5,000,000  was  expended  last 
year  by  employers  in  this  district  under  provisions 
of  the  workmen's  compensation  act.  Within  Chicago 
proper  the  fire  loss  in  1920  amounted  to  $11,800,000, 
an  increase  of  nearly  100  per  cent  in  two  years.  There 
was  also  loss  of  property  by  collisions  and  other  acci- 
dents. The  total  loss  by  accidents  and  fires  last  year 
was  $25,000,000,  a  greater  part  of  which  could  have 
been  prevented. 

Lines  of  Service 

Intensive  organization  of  the  Chicago  Safety  Council 
has  come  to  embrace  more  than  300  men  and  women 
actively  interested  in  its  work,  including  business  men, 
doctors,  lawyers,  engineers  of  various  classes,  club 
women,  social  workers,  industrial  executives,  leaders  in 
automobile  clubs,  etc.  This  large  group  of  earnest  and 

133 


competent  friends  of  safety  are  functioning  through  the 
same  sort  of  safety  organization  which  has  accomplished 
striking  results  in  industrial,  railroad  and  public  utility 
fields.  It  is  now  said  to  be  recognized  that  accidents 
in  industry  can  be  more  effectively  prevented  by  work 
carried  on  in  a  public  way  than  through  accident  pre- 
vention activities  through  the  industry  itself. 

The  future  service  of  the  Chicago  Safety  Council  for  a 
safer  Chicago  is  partly  indicated  by  the  variety  of  the 
efficient  activities  of  its  first  year,  which  has  embraced 
a  school  for  safety  supervisors,  prevention  of  motor  ve- 
hicle accidents,  teaching  of  safety  and  fire  prevention 
in  the  public  schools,  instruction  and  formal  graduation 
of  foremen  from  a  safety  instruction  course,  about  50,- 
000  workmen  being  represented ;  production  of  beneficial 
publicity,  prevention  of  traffic  accidents,  co-operation 
with  the  American  Red  Cross,  prevention  of  accidents 
on  railroad  premises  and  at  crossings,  promotion^  of  the 
study  of  health  and  sanitation,  instruction  of  chauffeurs 
and  truck  drivers,  direction  of  fire  prevention  day,  study 
of  accidents  to  juveniles,  co-operation  with  the  Ameri- 
canization movement,  holding  of  many  meetings  and 
conferences. 

Number  of  Fatalities  Less 

The  Chicago  Safety  Council  has  reduced  fatalities  in 
Cook  County  from  2,026  in  1919  to  1,982  in  1920,  a 
decrease  of  2.2  per  cent.  This  record  was  adversely  af- 
fected by  an  increase  of  29  per  cent  in  automobile  deaths 
in  1920  as  compared  with  1919,  but  it  is  to  be  noted 
that  automobile  licenses  in  Cook  County  have  increased 
from  143,531  in  1919  to  175,724  in  1920. 

The  Chicago  Safety  Council  plans  to  make  of  the 
semi-centennial  anniversary  period  a  "no  accident-no 
fire"  week  when  thousands  will  be  given  special  cause 
to  consider  individual  responsibility  for  the  general 
good.  In  preparation  for  this  safety  campaign  the  coun- 
cil has  displayed  an  effective  picture  poster  on  local 
transportation  lines  urging  citizens  to  make  Chicago  safe. 

Building  upon  its  useful  past,  the  Chicago  Safety 
Council  means  to  improve  upon  its  work  and  undertake 
new  and  appropriate  activities  to  demonstrate  that  acci- 
dents and  fires  are  not  inevitable  but  are  readily  pre- 
ventable. The  council  pursues  its  mission  of  conserva- 

134 


tion  of  life,  limb  and  property  with  the  presumption  that 
people  appreciate  that  its  work  is  not  only  intensely  hu- 
manitarian but  economically  fit.  Chicago  will  be  safer 
tomorrow  than  today  because  of  the  Chicago  Safety 
Council. 


135 


CHICAGO  WEATHER 


Not  Unlikely  Energy  of  Chicago  People  Due  Largely  to 
Peculiar  Nature  of  Climate 


When  some  years  ago  The  Chicago  Association  of 
Commerce  made  an  appropriation  to  aid  in  publication 
of  a  study  of  Chicago's  weather,  in  form  of  an  exhaustive 
work  on  the  "Weather  and  Climate  of  Chicago,"  by 
Prof.  H.  J.  Cox,  government  meteorologist,  and  asso- 
ciates, business  showed  that  breadth  of  interest  in  pro- 
moting education  relating  to  the  basic  conditions  afreet- 
ing  this  great  city's  life  that  has  found  additional  ex- 
pression in  subsequent  activities.  It  is  appropriate  that 
in  these  notes  on  the  future  of  Chicago  one  should  pic- 
ture in  non-statistical  fashion,  and  in  the  words  of  this 
same  esteemed  public  servant,  certain  conditions  which 
make  for  the  vital  efficiency  of  Chicago  and  an  expand- 
ing future: 

"The  city  is  located  in  latitude  41°  53'  north,  some- 
what less  than  half-way  from  the  equator  to  the  pole,  and 
in  longitude  87°  37'  west,  on  a  crescent-shaped  plain 
gradually  rising  from  the  level  of  Lake  Michigan,  whose 
altitude  is  about  581  feet  above  mean  sea  level.  This 
plain  at  its  highest  point  is  considerably  less  than  100 
feet  above  the  surface  of  the  lake,  and  its  greatest  width 
is  approximately  15  miles  in  a  northeast-southwest  di- 
rection. The  whole  plain  is  bordered  inland  by  a  glacial 
moraine  which  rises  in  places  to  about  150  feet  above 
the  higher  portions  of  the  plain  itself.  This  rim  is  far 
too  low  to  exert  any  appreciable  effect  upon  the  climatic 
or  weather  conditions  of  the  city,  and  forms  no  barrier 
to  either  cold-wave  areas  from  the  west  or  hot  winds 
from  the  southwest  and  south.  Such  barrier,  however, 
is  but  infrequently  needed,  as  many  times  the  waters  of 
the  lake  serve  to  soften  the  rigors  of  the  wintry  storms 
or  to  moderate  the  intensity  of  the  summer's  heat. 
No  Changes  Probable  in  Chicago's  Invigorating  Climate 

"Located  as  it  is  at  the  southwest  corner  of  the  lake, 
Chicago  is  justly  proud  of  its  climate.  As  a  consequence 

136 


of  the  cool  expanse  of  water  in  summer,  the  city  often 
enjoys  delightful  and  refreshing  breezes  while  the  in- 
terior of  the  country  away  from  the  lake  is  sweltering  in 
an  air  hot  and  still  almost  to  the  point  of  suffocation. 
The  city  is  close  to  certain  well-defined  storm  tracks, 
and  the  passage  of  these  disturbances  insures  ample  pre- 
cipitation and  interrupts  the  otherwise  monotonous 
cycles  of  temperature  and  weather  change.  Chicago 
has  been  called  the  'Windy  City,'  but  the  wind  move- 
ment here  is  not  much  greater  than  it  is  at  other  places 
in  the  Great  Lakes  region.  Its  changes  in  weather  are 
often  sudden  and  pronounced,  but  usually  are  of  such 
a  character  as  to  have  a  stimulating  effect  upon  the  av- 
erage person  of  health;  and  it  is  not  at  all  improbable 
that  the  great  energy  of  its  people,  which  has  resulted 
in  the  rapid  upbuilding  of  Chicago,  is  due  largely  to  the 
peculiar  nature  of  its  climate. 

"There  will  be  in  the  future,  as  there  has  been  in 
past,  a  great  variety  of  weather  conditions — occasional 
cold  and  warm  waves,  snows,  rains,  gales  and  drouths, 
mingled  with  the  usually  excellent  weather  for  which 
Chicago  is  noted.  Fortunately,  a  recurrence  of  the  pro- 
longed heat  such  as  that  experienced  in  the  summer  of 
1921  need  not  be  anticipated  for  many  years;  nor  will 
the  winters  on  the  average  be  more  severe  or  more  mild 
than  in  the  past.  Past  periods  of  drouth  like  the  one  pre- 
ceding the  Chicago  fire  in  1871,  when  practically  no 
rain  fell  for  twenty-two  days,  may  be  expected  infre- 
quently; and  these  will  be  balanced  by  rainy  spells  of 
more  than  the  usual  length.  There  is,  in  fact,  no  proba- 
bility of  any  change  in  our  climate,  and  our  weather 
will  merely  undergo  its  usual  fluctuations  from  day  to 
day,  from  week  to  week  and  from  month  to  month." 


137 


PUBLIC   LIBRARY 


Branch  Library  in  Every  Ward — Who  Plans  Next  Legacy 
to  People's   Treasure  House  of  Books? 


Let  not  Chicago  forget  that  the  Chicago  Public  Library 
owes  its  origin  after  the  great  fire  to  gifts  of  books  from 
English  publishers  and  authors  who  founded  the  present 
institution  by  presentation  of  over  12,000  volumes  sump- 
tuously bound  and  each  volume  inscribed  "As  a  mark 
of  English  sympathy."  In  this  historic  collection,  of 
sentimental  as  well  as  of  literary  value,  are  autographs 
of  famous  people,  not  the  least  being  that  of  Queen 
Victoria  herself.  This  nucleus  of  Chicago's  present  great 
treasure  house  of  books  was  organized  and  forwarded 
under  the  direction  of  Thomas  Hughes,  prominent  Brit- 
ish author  and  publicist.  An  embarrassment  of  riches 
proved  to  be  the  arrival  of  these  books  less  than  two 
months  after  the  fire,  and  a  two-fold  problem  was  pre- 
sented because  the  city  had  neither  authority  to  accept 
and  care  for  them  at  public  expense  nor  were  there  suit- 
able quarters  in  which  to  store  them.  Joseph  Medill, 
of  the  Chicago  Tribune,  mayor,  passed  the  case  on  to  a 
special  committee  of  citizens  with  Thomas  Hoyne  as 
chairman.  And  where  was  this  precious  gift,  requiring 
a  fireproof  depository,  installed?  It  was  deposited  in 
an  iron  water-tank  standing  on  trestles  behind  the  tem- 
porary city  hall  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Adams  and 
La  Salle  Streets,  this  humble  structure  because  of  its 
shabby  exterior  being  known  as  the  "Rookery,"  a  name 
that  passed  to  a  more  stately  successor  on  that  site. 

Offspring  of   First  Fifteen  Thousand 

On  January  1,  1873,  was  formally  opened  the  new 
library  with  sole  function,  however,  that  of  a  reading 
room.  The  first  librarian,  Dr.  William  Frederick  Poole 
of  Cincinnati,  a  man  distinguished  in  his  profession,  was 
appointed  January  1,  1874.  There  were  less  than  15,000 
volumes  when  books  began  to  circulate,  and  in  the  first 
year  the  daily  average  circulation  was  over  799.  The 
number  of  volumes  has  today  become  1,100,000  and 

138 


home  circulation  has  risen  to  25,000  volumes  per  day. 
And  these  great  resources  and  services  are  represented  in 
no  less  than  1,800  different  branches,  stations,  etc., 
whence  books  may  be  borrowed. 

So  much  in  brief  of  the  Chicago  Public  Library  of  the 
past.  As  for  the  future  all  hopes  and  policies  are  con- 
tained within  the  idea  that  the  library  shall  be  brought 
within  easy  walking  distance  of  every  citizen  from  his 
home.  The  total  number  of  registered  users,  that  is  to 
say  borrowers,  is  now  400,000  in  a  population  of 
2,700,000,  or  15  per  cent,  an  excellent  proportion,  but 
it  would  be  greater  were  facilities  greater.  The  aim 
announced  ten  years  ago  but  not  yet  attained  is  "a 
branch  library  in  every  ward."  This  accomplishment 
will  not  take  fifty  years,  but  nevertheless  progress  toward 
it  will  be  slow  under  present  conditions.  The  library 
board  needs  sites,  locations  and  buildings,  and  with 
buildings  planned  and  built  and  owned  by  it.  It  now 
has  but  five  special  buildings,  whereas  to  secure  thirty- 
five  or  forty  others  there  is  needed  a  building  fund  of 
$5,000,000  within  the  next  ten  years.  The  library's  sole 
revenue  is  the  annual  tax  lately  increased  to  8/10  of  a 
mill.  There  are  no  endowments  and  in  the  fifty  years 
there  has  been  but  one  bequest.  Public-spirited  people  of 
wealth  should  think  of  everybody's  library  as  if  it  were 
in  the  class  of  museums  and  hospitals  and  technical 
schools.  Chicago  will  surely  sustain  and  expand  what 
England  so  spontaneously  founded. 

New  Services  Projected 

A  new  educational  service,  perhaps,  will  be  the  cre- 
ation of  a  home  study  bureau  to  advise  as  to  the  sys- 
tematic courses  of  reading  for  individuals  and  clubs, 
including  building  complete  book  service.  Another  fine 
project  awaiting  opportunity  is  the  extension  of  or- 
ganized service  to  all  hospitals.  A  yet  unrealized  hope 
but  not  abandoned  is  no  less  a  development  than  a  busi- 
ness branch  on  La  Salle  Street,  equipped  with  every 
sort  of  reference  material.  Such  a  branch  would  sub- 
serve research  for  any  occupation.  Still  another  project 
contemplates  installing  in  public  schools  and  in  every 
room  50-book  deposits.  At  present  are  served  about 
one-fourth  of  the  rooms,  some  1,500,  in  this  manner. 

139 


In  each  of  the  twenty-seven  high  schools  it  is  hoped 
eventually  to  have  a  fully  equipped  branch  under  com- 
petent direction;  and  meanwhile  must  go  forward  serv- 
ice to  music  art,  the  industrial  arts,  and  the  blind,  and 
the  general  subject  of  visual  education  will  continue  to 
receive  attention.  Possibilities  of  instruction  by  pic- 
tures, moving  and  otherwise,  are  fully  appreciated  by 
the  library  management,  which  is  discussing  the  idea  of 
a  service  of  free  picture  films  for  schools,  churches, 
clubs  and  similar  institutions  or  groups. 

The  library  is  doing  its  own  executing  as  well  as  its 
own  dreaming,  but  much  depends  upon  the  public's  be- 
stowal of  resources.  Not  in  fifty  years  can  these  projects 
be  put  through  if  the  library  must  subsist  solely  upon 
its  normal  income.  There  must  be  library  development 
means  provided  on  a  larger  scale  than  supplied  through 
official  sources,  and  therefore  the  board  considers  launch- 
ing a  publicity  campaign  to  bring  its  needs  and  oppor- 
tunities to  public  attention.  Chicago  must  be  "sold"  on 
its  public  library — 100  per  cent  "sold."  Chicago  must 
come  to  feel  throughout  its  entire  population  that  the 
library  is  worthy  of  current  support  and  testamentary 
benevolences.  Surely  it  should  not  take  half  a  century 
to  bring  true  the  ideals  of  its  friends  today. 


140 


CHICAGO  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 


Rare   Treasures   Make   Library   and   Museum   One   of   the 
Bulwarks  of  American  Traditions 


When  Chicago  was  nineteen  years  old  as  a  city,  that 
is,  in  1856,  a  group  of  bankers,  merchants,  physicians 
and  lawyers  decided  that  Chicago  should  then  begin  to 
collect  and  preserve  a  record  of  her  own  history,  of  the 
states  carved  from  the  old  Northwest  Territory  and  of 
all  America.  Therefore  they  banded  themselves  together 
under  the  name  of  the  city  which  several  of  them  had 
helped  to  organize  as  a  village  in  1833.  Today  these 
city  fathers  are  perpetuated  in  school  buildings  and 
thoroughfares,  although  our  children  may  not  realize 
the  historic  significance  of  such  names  as  Kinzie,  Barry, 
Hubbard,  Arnold,  McCormick,  Manierre,  Ogden,  Skin- 
ner, Scammon,  Ryerson,  McCagg,  Burley  and  Went- 
worth.  This  group  made  itself  the  city's  center  of  cul- 
ture and  here  were  laid  the  deep  foundations  of  the  Chi- 
cago Historical  Society,  so  deep  and  broad  as  to  invite 
such  a  superstructure  as  the  great  Gunther  collection  of 
Americana  which  now  awaits  purchase. 

When  that  well  known  citizen,  Charles  F.  Gunther, 
died  in  1920 — and  he  had  been  for  twenty  years  a  di- 
rector of  the  Historical  Society — the  latter  took  on  the 
responsibility  of  administering  his  great  collection  of 
historical  treasures  and  of  paying  to  his  estate  $150,000. 
Happy  to  say,  $60,000  has  been  raised  by  the  Society 
and  it  is  expected  that  a  popular  subscription  will  com- 
plete the  funds.  Meanwhile,  Chicago  is  losing  much  of 
the  advantage  of  the  possession  of  these  treasures  be- 
cause but  a  small  portion  can,  by  limitations  of  space, 
be  exhibited  at  the  home  of  the  Society. 

Children's  Museum  of  Americanisnv 

What  Chicago  now  has  within  its  grasp  is  the  com- 
plete establishment  of  a  children's  museum  of  Ameri- 
canism. When  the  collection  of  the  Chicago  Historical 
Society  shall  have  been  amplified  and  enriched  by  pos- 
session of  the  Gunther  treasures,  Chicago  and  other  west- 

141 


ern  children  need  not  journey  to  eastern  centers  of  his- 
tory and  antiquarian  study,  but  in  our  own  great  city 
can  perfect  their  conceptions  of  Colonial  and  Revolu- 
tionary America.  Indeed,  for  twenty  years  the  Chicago 
Historical  Society  has  been  adapting  its  collections  to 
the  understanding  of  children,  and  today  Washington 
and  Lincoln  and  others  of  the  Nation's  great  seem  to  in- 
habit in  their  very  personalities  the  halls  of  an  institu- 
tion which  is  one  of  the  bulwarks  of  American  traditions. 
Constant  and  constructive  are  the  activities  of  the  So- 
ciety, embracing  the  publication  of  ten  large  volumes 
and  over  seventy  lesser  ones;  historical  lectures,  an  an- 
nual social  function,  current  topic  talks,  children's  lec- 
tures, Sunday  afternoon  talks  on  American  ideals,  Sun- 
day suppers  for  soldiers  during  the  war,  hospitable  re- 
ception of  kindred  clubs  and  societies,  development  of 
a  rare  library  already  comprising  100,000  volumes, 
manuscripts,  pamphlets,  etc.,  including  a  collection  of 
early  newspapers  resorted  to  from  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, and  of  course  an  historical  museum.  The  Society 
also  recognizes  patriotic  anniversaries  and  "Chicago 
fire  day."  Did  the  Society  have  more  ample  support, 
being  maintained  entirely  by  membership  dues  and  the 
interest  of  legacies,  it  could  co-operate  with  every  ac- 
tivity that  makes  for  a  better  city  and  a  more  united 
Americanism. 

Fire   Destroyed  Valued  Possessions 

From  its  foundation  in  1856  the  Society  has  been  a 
medium  of  expression  of  Chicago's  best  citizenship,  its 
members  standing  foremost  for  the  successful  prosecu- 
tion of  the  Civil  War  and  carrying  their  patriotic  serv- 
ice through  all  the  years  of  Chicago's  life  story.  By 
1871  the  Society  had  collected  the  very  great  number 
of  100,000  volumes,  etc.,  and  installed  them  in  a  massive 
fireproof  building  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Dearborn 
Avenue  facing  Ontario  Street,  the  fine  home  of  the  So- 
ciety today  being  at  the  corner  of  Dearborn  Avenue  and 
West  Ontario  Street. 

On  Monday  morning,  October  9,  1871,  this  store- 
house of  treasures  melted  in  the  fire,  its  secretary,  Colonel 
Samuel  Stone,  nearly  losing  his  life  in  a  fruitless  effort 
tc  save  its  records  and  the  most  precious  of  its  docu- 

142 


ments,  the  original  draft  of  Lincoln's  Emancipation 
Proclamation;  and  afterwards  from  the  ashes  there  was 
recovered  but  one  book  and  one  relic,  the  former  a 
handsomely  bound  edition  of  the  Psalms  of  David,  and 
the  latter  an  old  Confederate  sword.  The  ashes  were 
not  cold  before  John  Wentworth  had  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  a  second  collection  by  building  up  the  files  of 
the  Democrat  from  copies  solicited  from  beyond  the  fire 
region.  Then  came  the  fire  of  1874,  and  such  collections 
as  had  been  made  in  the  intervening  time  were  swept 
away.  Today  the  library  and  historical  museum  are 
what  they  are  by  virtue  of  its  founders  and  conservators 
and  the  good  will  of  an  appreciative  public,  which  will 
surely  call  in  the  near  future  for  enlargement  of  the 
Society's  resources  and  not  unlikely  the  relocation  of  its 
home. 


143 


CHICAGO  AND  THE  ARTS 


In  a  Great  Market  and  Workshop  the  Fine  and  Decorative 

Arts  Are  to  Flourish  and  Music  and  Poetry  Will 

Further  Assert  Their  Power 


Art's  influence  upon  the  Chicago  of  tomorrow,  gifts 
of  the  sisterhood — architecture,  landscape  design,  paint- 
ing, sculpture,  music,  poetry — will  disclose  its  inspiring 
powers  in  fullest  expression  only  as  we  of  today  train 
the  taste,  kindle  the  imagination,  enrich  the  mind,  guide 
the  hand  of  those  who  are  to  create,  the  while  agreeing 
as  an  entire  community  that,  although  business  be  our 
vocation,  beauty  shall  be  one  spiritual  quest. 

Order  prepares  for  beauty,  and  a  vision  of  order  dawns 
upon  Chicago,  its  prophecy  being  the  Chicago  Plan. 
With  order  will  come  adornment,  and,  although  the 
quaint  and  picturesque  of  ancient  Europe  may  not  be- 
come recreated  in  an  American  capital  of  commerce  and 
industry,  behind  less  interesting  walls  but  along  sunlit 
ways  there  will  be  a  degree  of  health  and  comfort  which 
the  new  civilization  will  glory  to  achieve.  And  art  will 
begin  to  flow  through  the  life  and  works  of  a  people  as 
a  quickening  stream.  Those  who  give  thought  to  their 
city  known  Chicago's  faults,  and,  although  these  cham- 
pions be  not  organized  as  such,  are  a  constant  and  pro- 
gressive band  for  its  betterment  and  beautification ;  and 
the  Art  Institute  and  public  schools  will  have  proven 
power  houses  of  execution. 

Grace  Will  Gild  Power 

Ten  years  will  give  almost  sensationally  transforming 
touches  to  this  masterful  city  seeking  the  graces;  and  the 
stately  and  monumental,  the  lovely  and  benign,  will  dis- 
place many  a  hard  and  forbidding  relic  of  a  people 
wresting  success  from  the  material,  but  attuned  to  the 
spirit.  Resident  and  stranger  want  a  clean  and  smoke- 
less city,  and  "strict  control  of  the  billboard  horror,  a 
constant  and  hideous  irritation."  "It  does  not,"  further 
writes  a  leader  in  the  arts,  "seem  possible  that  'big  busi- 
ness' can  realize  to  what  extent  the  polluted  air  and 

144 


flaunting  billboards  influence  people  against  one  of  the 
most  wonderful  cities  in  the  world  today.  If  they  did 
they  would  take  such  action  that  would  shortly  eliminate 
both." 

What  is  good  in  Chicago's  buildings,  bridges,  towers, 
parks  and  statuary  and  in  decorative  painting,  will  have 
our  own  and  the  world's  approval ;  and  we  shall  be  rich, 
indeed,  if,  as  one  artist  hopes  may  prove  our  fortune, 
"this  most  characteristically  American  city  shall  possess 
the  greatest  comprehensive  collection  of  American  art, 
and  if  the  Art  Institute  shall  develop  so  as  to  house  this, 
and  also  contain  the  finest  examples  of  the  art  of  all 
nations." 

Restore  Columbian  Art  Gallery 

Eminent  in  his  art,  and  of  countrywide  authority,  is  he 
who  wishes  the  following  benefits  to  the  city  of  his  long 
and  enriching  service: 

The  tangible  thing  that  I  have  most  desired  for  a  score  of 
years  is  the  development  of  the  city's  water  front — the  union  of 
Grant  Park  with  Jackson  Park  by  means  of  the  outer  drive  and 
the  lagoon.  This  realization  of  Mr.  Burnham's  imposing  vision 
will  glorify  our  city  and  serve  all  its  people. 

Another  thing  which  I  have  greatly  at  heart  is  the  restoration 
of  the  Columbian  art  gallery  to  its  original  beauty  and  its  recon- 
secration  to  public  service.  In  that  building,  which  has  been 
called  the  most  beautiful  in  America,  I  would  like  to  see  installed 
a  great  museum  of  architecture  and  of  American  sculpture.  Also 
a  wing  should  be  reserved  to  neighborhood  uses,  with  gymnasium 
and  auditorium.  Such  accommodations  I  would  like  to  see  multi- 
plied and  scattered  throughout  our  city  that  every  young  man 
and  woman  might  have  opportunity  to  develop  physically  and 
socially,  and,  if  so  disposed,  on  lines  musical  and  dramatic. 

I  hope  to  live  to  see  the  Midway  Surrounded  by  the  imposing 
structures  of  the  University  of  Chicago  and  fitly  decorated  with 
sculptural  expression  of  the  highest  ideals  of  an  ambitious  and 
aspiring  citizenry. 

But  whatever  we  suggest  or  dream  is  to  be  so  greatly  surpassed 
in  the  next  half  century  that  it  seems  almost  idle  to  record  our 
hopes.  How  little  did  those  stout-hearted  men  of  1871  foresee 
the  Chicago  of  today.  We  can  but  imitate  them,  each  doing  as 
honestly  as  he  can  the  little  job  assigned  him;  out  of  our  united 
efforts  will  develop  the  Chicago  of  the  future,  the  true  City  of 
Destiny. 

Art's  Great  Storehouse 

Distinguished  among  institutions  of  its  class,  whether 
in  the  new  world  or  among  the  more  classic  centers  of  art 
in  the  old,  is  the  Art  Institute  of  Chicago,  which  requires 

145 


and  deserves  the  public's  continued  appreciation  and  in- 
creased support  if  the  fine  arts  shall  flourish  in  this  city 
as  its  ideals  demand.  The  Institute  is  a  popular  pos- 
session in  two  senses — it  has  the  support  of  over  13,000 
members,  and  last  year  over  1,000,000  people  visited 
its  galleries.  The  Institute  is  now  asking  for  the  modest 
sum  of  $1,000,000  to  carry  on  and  develop  the  work  of 
one  of  Chicago's  major  activities  and  nearly  one-third  of 
this  sum  has  already  been  subscribed.  The  Art  Institute 
is  the  recognized  leader  and  dominant  factor  in  Chicago's 
art  world,  and  its  call  to  the  public  to  aid  in  financing  its 
necessary  expenditure  and  expansion  is  the  result  of 
its  position  and  growth.  It  faces  a  deficit  in  operating 
income  and  at  the  same  time  faces  the  need  for  expansion 
that  is  nothing  less  than  compulsory.  One  of  the  city's 
most  famous  cultural  institutions  receives  from  but  a 
part  of  the  public  support  in  entrance  fees,  while  a  small 
South  Park  tax  is  but  one-third  or  less  of  requirements 
for  operation  of  the  Institute. 

Institute's  School  of  Art 

It  cannot  be  too  frequently  repeated  that  the  Art  In- 
stitute of  Chicago  conducts  the  largest  art  school  in  the 
world,  and  in  the  four  decades  of  its  existence  the  many 
thousands  of  students  who  have  received  inspiration  and 
education  in  its  classes  have  wielded  an  incalculable  in- 
fluence all  over  the  world.  In  the  life  of  the  city  the 
museum  wields  a  far  greater  influence.  So  great  is  this 
influence  that  the  Art  Institute  has  become  a  veritable 
community  center,  where  rich  and  poor,  throughout  the 
year,  crowd  through  the  doors  that  are  never  closed  a 
single  day. 

In  activities  as  well  as  in  number  of  visitors  no  other 
art  museum  in  America  compares  with  the  Art  Institute. 
In  its  hour  of  urgent  need  it  is  scarcely  conceivable  that 
Chicagoans  will  not  come  speedily  and  gladly  to  the  aid 

Lorado  Taft's  "Fountain  of  Time"  is  a  fragment  of  the  sculptor's  compre- 
hensive scheme  for  the  decoration  of  the  Midway.  Along  with  three  bridges 
dedicated  to  the  Sciences,  the  Arts,  and  Religions,  and  a  cordon  of  statues  of 
great  idealists,  he  proposed  some  years  ago  a  "Fountain  of  Creation"  or  evolu- 
tion to  be  erected  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  avenue  and  the  "Fountain  of 
Time"  for  the  sunset  end.  The  model  of  the  latter  is  now  in  place.  This 
sculptural  allegory  is  a  recognition  of  the  mystery  of  life;  a  presentation  of 
waves  of  ephemeral  human  atoms  as  contrasted  with  the  rock-like  eternity  of 
Time.  The  conception  was  suggested  by  Austin  Dobson's  paraphrase  of  Ronsart: 
"Time  goes  you  say?  Ah,  no 
Alas!  Time  stays,  we  go." 

147 


of  an  institution  of  such  vital  importance  to  the  future 
of  our  city.  There  should  be  more  than  sufficient  ready 
contributions  to  meet  every  need. 

The  increasing  number  of  gifts  of  important  art  col- 
lections, the  growing  school  and  demand  for  new  features 
and  modern  facilities  have  all  combined  to  render  addi- 
tions of  such  insistent  necessity  that  it  is  impossible  to 


The  Municipal  Art  League  and  the  Chicago  Camera 
Club,  in  a  series  of  strikingly  lovely  postal  cards  for 
public  sale,  are  uncovering  beauties  in  the  material 
forms  of  smoke-beset  Chicago.  Not  a  classic  old  world 
ruin  this,  but  the  peristyle  adorning  the  lake  front. 

Photo    by    Robert    H.    Conklin 

148 


ignore  the  conditions.  The  recent  gifts  of  such  splendid 
collections  as  the  Kimball  and  Palmer  pictures  will  alone 
require  two  galleries  for  their  accommodation. 

Chicago's  increased  interest  in  art  is  well  exemplified 


As  dignified  and  stately  as  a  Grecian  temple — a  section 

of  the   portico   of   the   Field   Museum.     This   picture  is 

another    art    gift    of    the    Municipal    Art    League    and 

Chicago  Camera  Club. 

Photo  by  A.  H.  Born 
149 


in  the  two  important  prize  competitions  offered  through 
the  Art  Institute  by  the  Chicago  Daily  News  and  the  Chi- 
cago Tribune,  the  Tribune  offering  a  $5,000  prize  for 
mural  paintings  to  decorate  the  walls  of  its  local  room, 
and  the  News  offering  $1,000  for  a  sculpture  decoration 
for  a  fountain  to  embellish  the  grounds  about  the  Daily 
News  sanitarium  for  sick  babies. 

A  reader  of  the  accompanying  interesting  sketch  of  the 
Chicago  of  the  past  fifty  years  will  note  that  in  a  com- 
munity having  its  own  endowment  in  the  arts  there  was 
the  happiest  cultivation  of  opera  to  the  degree  of  avail- 
able resources — tomorrow  a  greater  Chicago  will  read 
that  in  1921  this  place  became  the  first  American  city 
to  effect  an  organization  of  citizens  to  underwrite  in  their 
private  capacities  the  adequate  production  of  grand 
opera. 

Grand  Opera's  Splendid  Promise 

A  growing  institution  of  exhilarating  promise — and  its 
support  would  be  an  obligation  of  a  municipality  in  Eu- 
rope— is  the  Chicago  Opera  Company,  which,  resolving 
to  do  a  great  share  in  making  Chicago  authoritative  as  a 
music  center  in  America,  is  about  to  enter  on  its  eleventh 
season,  opening  at  the  Auditorium  Theater,  Monday,  No- 
vember 14.  Under  artistic  and  business  direction  of 
exceptional  capacity,  this  company  will  present  an  array 
of  singers  without  serious  rivalry  in  the  world. 

To  assure  that  this  undertaking  shall  attain  the  mag- 
nitude and  excellence  proposed,  and  that  it  shall  be  re- 
liably sustained  and  without  undue  burden  anywhere, 
there  is  being  enrolled  a  body  of  500  citizens  and  busi- 
ness houses,  becoming  guarantors  at  not  to  exceed  $1,000 
a  year  for  five  years  beginning  May  1,  1922.  If  deficits 
ensue  in  the  early  years  of  a  splendid  adventure — and 
there  have  been  deficits  which  but  a  few  have  generously 
borne  in  the  past — this  guarantee  fund  will  provide  an 
adequate  sum  to  care  for  them.  Half  of  the  guarantors 
has  already  been  obtained.  Public-spirited  citizens  of 
means  following  the  example  of  their  like  will  not  fail 
to  seek  enrollment.  Already  the  extent  of  the  advance 
subscriptions  for  the  next  season's  seats  indicates  not  only 
encouraging  financial  support,  but  extension  of  the  main- 
tenance of  opera  among  the  people,  that  is  the  democ- 

150 


ratization  of  a  cultural  activity  which  needs  to  be  made 
financially  available  to  become  intensively  developed. 

Chicago's  Cultivation  of  Poetry 

A  year  ago  the  London  Times,  writing  of  the  Chicago 
publication,  Poetry,  a  magazine  of  verse,  Miss  Harriet 
Monroe,  editor,  made  this  interesting  observation:  "We 
need  not  linger  on  the  many  English  and  French  con- 
tributors of  this  periodical.  We  do  have  to  note  that  it 
has  published,  as  it  honestly  claims,  much  of  the  best 
experimental  poetry  written  by  Americans  in  the  past 
eight  years.  They  have  succeeded  in  their  primary  de- 
sign to  create  poetry  which  should  be  American  in 
thought,  feeling,  subject  and  form.  That  is  after  all  a 
distinguished  achievement." 

A  tribute  of  moment  this  to  a  little  institution  of 
authority  and  leadership  peculiarly  Chicago's  own,  an 
instrument  to  make  Chicago  a  center  of  influence  in  the 
art  of  poetry,  and  recently  drawing  from  the  editor  of 
another  London  paper  the  interesting  admission  that, 
speaking  as  he  was  in  the  office  of  this  magazine,  he  was 
"in  the  center  of  the  English-speaking  poetry  world."  It 
is  the  opinion  of  the  editor  of  Poetry  that  Carl  Sandburg 
and  Edgar  Lee  Masters,  both  Chicago  residents,  are  two 
of  the  most  distinguished  poets  now  writing  in  English, 
and  that  Vachel  Lindsay  of  Springfield  may  be  claimed 
for  the  Chicago  group,  which  includes  also  Eunice  Tiet- 
gens,  Agnes  Lee,  Frances  Shaw  and,  of  course,  the  maga- 
zine's editor  herself. 

The  magazine.  Poetry,  comes  to  its  ninth  birthday 
October  1st  of  this  year,  and  in  this  short  but  fruitful 
period  it  has  had  the  honor  of  introducing  many  poets, 
among  them  some  of  the  most  famous,  and  it  is  generally 
acknowledged  to  be  the  most  influential  organ  of  the  art 
now  published  and  a  true  force  in  the  development  of 
poetry  in  America.  "Man  does  not  live  by  bread  alone," 
nor  do  peoples  grow  great  without  inspiring  utterances 
of  the  spirit. 

A  Center  of  Musical  Study 

During  the  last  decade  the  musical  activities  of  Chi- 
cago have  been  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  the  city 
bids  well  to  become  the  musical  center  of  the  country. 

151 


The  first  organizations  in  the  field  were  the  Theodore 
Thomas  Orchestra,  now  known  as  the  Chicago  Symphony 
Orchestra,  and  the  Apollo  Club.  The  Apollo  Club  was 
founded  forty-nine  years  ago  under  direction  of  William 
Tomlins.  The  Chicago  Symphony  Orchestra  came  into 
existence  about  thirty  years  ago,  with  Theodore  Thomas 
as  its  director.  When  the  Apollo  Club  was  first  organ- 
ized Chicago  was  just  recovering  from  the  effects  of  the 
great  fire.  It  may  be  said  that  these  two  organizations 
have  been  the  main  factors  in  making  Chicago  musical. 
Today  are  found  musical  organizations  in  every  large 
corporation.  Bands — the  Chicago  Band  a  leading  ex- 
ample— choruses,  orchestras,  fife  and  drum  corps,  are 
all  represented.  With  the  growth  of  interest  in  organized 
music  has  also  come  tremendous  development  of  the 
student  body.  Chicago  runs  a  very  close  second  to  New 
York  in  number  of  musical  students.  Coupled  with  the 
growth  of  the  city  has  developed  the  musical  organiza- 
tion known  as  the  Civic  Music  Association,  whose  chief 
reason  for  existence  is  Americanization  through  music. 
It  conducts  free  Sunday  concerts  in  the  outlying  dis- 
tricts, giving  them  in  the  field  houses  of  the  parks.  In 
these  same  places  twenty-one  children's  choruses  have 
been  organized  which  have  received  two  lessons  a  week 
from  experienced  teachers.  The  aim  of  these  choruses 
is  to  teach  the  children  of  the  foreign  born  their  own 
folk  songs  in  English. 

Another  development  of  the  Civic  Music  Association 
is  the  Civic  Orchestra  of  Chicago,  Frederick  Stock,  di- 
rector. This  is  the  only  organization  in  the  country 
where  an  American  trained  musician  can  acquire  experi- 
ence and  routine  to  fit  him  for  work  in  the  Symphony 
Orchestra.  Heretofore  it  has  been  necessary  to  use 
foreign  players  for  this  highly  specialized  work  because 
of  the  fact  that  Europe  has  seen  the  value  of  symphony 
training  and  in  many  cases  men  received  their  educa- 
tion through  government  subsidy.  This  orchestra  has 
been  in  existence  for  but  a  year  and  a  half  and  has 
placed  nine  players  in  the  major  symphony  orchestras 
of  the  country. 

Several  choral  festivals  are  held  in  the  city  and  its 
environs  each  year.  First  in  importance  is  the  North 
Shore  Festival  at  Evanston. 

152 


THE   CHICAGO   PLAN 


What  a  City  of  Rapid  and  Unregulated  Growth  Has  Done 

and  Is  Preparing  to  Do  by  Means  of  a  Model  Plan 

— United  Public  Backs  Great  Undertakings 

Chicago's  greatest  conception  for  physical  improve- 
ment, and  a  model  in  principles  for  the  entire  world,  is 
the  development  scheme  of  the  Chicago  Plan  Commis- 
sion, now  generally  known  as  the  "Chicago  Plan."  This 
proposal  of  vision,  practicality  and  magnitude,  proceed- 
ing from  Daniel  H.  Burnham  and  Edward  H.  Bennett 
under  auspices  of  the  Commercial  Club,  is  now  under- 
going effective  application  in  the  reconstruction  and  ex- 
pansion of  a  great  city  evolving  without  a  plan  from 
frontier  conditions. 

The  plan  of  Chicago  contemplates  solution  of  prob- 
lems of  transportation,  recreation  and  public  health,  and 
points  the  way  to  orderly  municipal  development.  Twelve 
of  the  major  features  of  the  Plan  have  been  assured, 
each  of  commercial  benefit,  while  many  have  humani- 
tarian consequences,  but  the  philosophy  of  the  Plan  at 
large  is  the  attainment  of  commercial  advantage. 

The  Plan,  as  submitted  to  the  public  twelve  years  ago, 
has  been  given  important  and  constant  public  emphasis 
by  Charles  H.  Wacker,  chairman  of  the  commission,  and 
by  the  late  Walter  D.  Moody,  managing  director,  while 
at  the  same  time  major  features  of  the  Plan  by  approval 
of  the  public  have  begun  to  be  realized  before  its  eyes, 
and  to  secure  conclusive  and  enthusiastic  approval  for 
its  principles  and  projects.  By  force  of  such  circum- 
stances, therefore,  Chicago  is  beginning  to  consider  its 
own  development  as  a  problem  of  science  and  art,  to  ac- 
cept a  formulated  program,  to  attain  certain  great  and 
popular  ends  and  to  urge  that  civic  leaders  cast  their 
"dreams"  upon  the  sky.  Chicago  is  ready  to  "dream" 
and  tomorrow  execute. 

Competing  Cities  Plan  and  Spend 

There  is  a  war  of  cities  and  the  community  which  does 
not  design  a  practical  and  beautiful  organism  for  business 

153 


and  residence  may  already  see  an  imperilled  future.  Cities 
competing  with  Chicago  trade  and  industry  are  spend- 
ing millions  upon  public  improvements,  and  in  Chicago's 
determination  for  a  progressive  policy  lies  the  secret  of 
its  supremacy.  It  is  not  enough  to  be  the  greatest  rail- 
road center  of  the  country  when  there  is  a  lack  of  water 
transportation,  congestion  of  streets,  inadequacy  in  ter- 
minals. The  relative  commercial  standing  of  Chicago,  not 
to  speak  of  its  distinct  advance,  cannot  be  maintained 
without  the  application  of  this  great  city's  great  will  to 
such  undertakings  as  the  building  of  an  industrial  harbor 
in  Lake  Calumet,  of  a  vast  transfer  harbor  at  the  Illinois- 
Indiana  border,  completion  of  a  waterway  between  Chi- 
cago and  the  Gulf,  and  the  bringing  of  deep  sea  ships 
from  all  seas  to  Chicago  by  way  of  the  Great  Lakes  and 
St.  Lawrence  River.  The  creation  of  these  indispensable 
economic  instruments  require,  however,  large  internal 
improvements  which  will  enhance  the  ease  and  economy 
of  doing  business  within  Chicago  itself. 

The  Chicago  Plan  is  the  paramount  conception  de- 
signed to  meet  the  requirements  of  a  crisis.  In  realiza- 
tion of  certain  great  economic  externals  others  will  help, 
but  within  itself  Chicago  must  justify  ambitions  based 
upon  its  central  location,  abundant  raw  materials,  enor- 
mous labor  market  and  unlimited  trade  territory. 

Improvement  of  Main  Thoroughfares 

Rehabilitation  of  railway  terminals  on  the  South  and 
West  Sides  will  be  a  great  improvement,  but  there  re- 
mains much  to  be  done  in  further  enlarging  our  railroad 
and  waterway  facilities  and  in  developing  a  scientific  in- 
terchange system.  There  is  congestive  traffic  between 
railroad  terminals  which  could  be  handled  better  and 
more  cheaply  elsewhere.  Large  areas  of  railroad  prop- 
erty are  developed  to  only  a  small  part  of  their  use- 
fulness and  the  true  railroad  and  waterway  transporta- 
tion system  is  yet  to  come.  Street  traffic  will  benefit  from 
creation  of  a  quadrangle  of  wide  streets  around  the  busi- 
ness center  composed  of  Michigan  Avenue,  Roosevelt 
Road,  Canal  Street  and  South  Water  Street,  and  com- 
munication will  be  further  helped  by  the  opening,  widen- 
ing and  extension  as  main  streets  of  such  as  Western 
Avenue,  Robey  Street  and  Ogden  Avenue,  but  there  is 

155 


need  for  an  enlarged  program  of  street  improvement, 
because  in  the  nine-mile  width  of  Chicago  there  are  but 
three  through  north  and  south  streets,  and  in  its  length 
of  twenty-six  miles  but  twenty -two  east  and  west  streets. 

Another  Chicago  plan  project  of  much  commercial 
benefit  is  the  effort  to  secure  two  blocks  on  Canal  Street 
between  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  depot  and  the  new 
Union  station  as  the  site  for  a  new  post  office.  Chicago, 
the  pivotal  business  point  of  the  entire  United  States, 
suffers  inadequate  postal  facilities,  and  not  only  Chicago 
but  the  entire  country  is  the  loser. 

Attractive  City  Brings  Great  Wealth  to  Itself 

The  city  which  is  attractive  to  an  intelligent  popula- 
tion, arousing  its  pride  and  militant  championship,  is 
also  likely  to  be  attractive  to  the  world  at  large.  The 
next  generation  is  growing  up  to  accept  as  its  own,  and 


Transformations  of  a  century  about  the  site  of  Fort  Dearborn, 
the  timber  walls  of  which  rose  on  the  near  side  of  the  river 
where  now  sweeps  broad  Michigan  Avenue  crossing  the 
stream  at  two  levels  on  Chicago's  finest  bridge.  In  the 
river's  center  lies  the  Rush  Street  bridge  discarded.  Beyond 
the  queenly  Wrigley  Building  the  new  Chicago  Tribune 
plant  rests  solidly  at  the  right,  and  in  the  distance,  were  the 
picture's  area  extended,  might  be  seen  Chicago's  newest  great 
hotel,  the  Drake.  Thence  align  themselves  Chicago's  most 
beautiful  mansions. 

Permission    of    Ralph    C.    Digging    Company. 

156 


as  features  of  a  beautiful  and  distinguished  city,  the 
Michigan  Avenue  improvement,  the  forthcoming  lake 
front  park,  forest  preserves,  Field  Museum,  the  stadium, 
and  similar  spectacular  and  useful  improvements  which 
are  to  serve  in  splendid  fashion  the  welfare  of  the  people. 
Travel  and  trade  come  to  interesting  cities  and  Chicago 
must  consider  the  advantage  of  the  revenue  to  be  derived 
from  hundreds  of  thousands  of  tourists.  It  is  estimated 
that  money  of  this  class  amounts  to  $876,000,000  a  year 
in  New  York  City;  that  before  the  war  travelers  spent  in 
Switzerland  $150,000,000  a  year,  in  France  $600,000,000 
a  year,  and  that  American  travelers  alone  spent  $500,- 
000,000  annually  in  foreign  lands. 

Zoning  and  Housing 

The  latest  development  in  city  planning  is  city  zoning, 
and  by  the  legislature  Chicago  has  been  given  power  to 
divide  itself  into  various  districts,  such  as  industrial, 
commercial,  residential  and  the  like.  The  Chicago  zon- 
ing commission  has  been  appointed  and  this  essential 
public  service  will  begin  to  be  undertaken,  having  in 
view  a  plan  recognizing  the  rights,  proprieties,  beauties 
and  decencies  of  harmonious  metropolitan  growth. 

From  the  beginning  Chicago's  housing  question  has 
been  in  the  mind  of  the  Chicago  Plan  Commission  and 
today,  through  suspension  of  building  following  the  war, 
the  problem  is  more  acute  than  ever.  People  continue  in 
great  numbers  to  move  to  cities,  and  to  supply  proper 
housing  facilities  both  for  the  new-comers,  and  for  the 
thousands  who  have  long  suffered  from  fatal  social  neg- 
lect, calls  for  a  definite  and  comprehensive  plan.  Build- 
ing will  yet  resume  in  Chicago  on  a  great  and  perhaps 
feverish  scale.  There  may  be  urgency,  haste  and  strenu- 
ous competition.  The  vast  numbers  moving  to  this  busy 
workshop  will  demand  and  deserve  adequate  and  eco- 
nomic housing. 

England  has  some  experience  to  submit  about  the 
building  of  houses  under  town  planning  control,  and 
about  building  houses  within  economic  reach  of  work- 
ing people.  Chicago  cannot  too  quickly  and  thought- 
fully produce  a  housing  program  with  which  purposes 
in  general  city  planning  and  zoning  are  related. 

From  this  brief  survey   of  the   Chicago  Plan   in  the 

157 


broad,  one  may  profitably  proceed  to  more  particular 
mention  of  some  of  its  features.  The  policy  of  grouping 
public  buildings  as  advocated  in  the  Plan  has  stimulated 
the  formation  of  civic  centers  over  the  entire  country, 
notable  examples  appearing  in  New  York  City,  Cleve- 
land, San  Francisco,  Massachusetts,  Philadelphia,  Buf- 
falo, Denver,  cities  in  which  the  principle  already  is 
demonstrated  or  working  out.  Chicago  alone,  however, 
parent  of  this  movement,  has  up  to  the  present  taken  no 
step  in  the  interests  of  economy,  convenience  and  beauty 
as  regards  its  public  buildings.  In  the  Chicago  Plan 
the  civic  center  has  been  designed  for  the  vicinity  of 
Congress  and  Halsted  Streets.  The  city's  center  of  popu- 
lation is  at  Fisk  and  Twentieth  Streets,  and  has  always 
moved  slowly  in  a  southwestern  direction  from  the  days 
of  Fort  Dearborn.  For  population  and  other  important 
reasons,  this  junction  offers  an  ideal  site  for  the  civic 
center.  Here  would  be  the  keystone  in  the  arch  of  civic 


Double  deck  plan  for  reconstruction  of  South  Water  Street. 

improvements  for  the  general  plan  and  by  this  would 
be  greatly  benefited  the  West  Side. 

Revised  Scheme  for  Civic  Center 

It  may  be  necessary,  however,  to  modify  the  original 
scheme  of  the  civic  center,  because  for  the  last  dozen 
years  the  city  and  county  building  has  established  more 
or  less  a  present  center  of  administration  and  so,  retain- 
ing the  present  city  hall  building  for  city  hall  purposes — 

158 


indeed,  the  building  had  outgrown  itself  before  ready 
for  occupancy — and  for  special  departments  of  justice  as 
related  to  that  site,  there  might  be  erected  a  new  group 
of  buildings  at  Halsted  and  Congress  Streets,  including 
a  town  hall  or  auditorium,  the  municipal  courts,  state 
appellate  courts,  juvenile  courts  and  others,  an  Illinois 
state  building — the  state  alone  has  a  score  or  more  of 
separate  offices  distributed  about  Chicago — a  board  of 
education  building,  etc.,  and  at  the  same  time  ground 
should  be  secured  for  future  extension  of  all  these  serv- 
ices. In  connection  with  this  scheme,  the  diagonals  orig- 
inally converging  at  Congress  and  Halsted  Streets,  shown 
in  the  Plan  of  Chicago,  would  not  be  executed  but  modi- 
fied. Such  would  be  a  revised  plan  for  a  civic  center. 

Reconstruction  of   South  Water  Street 

South  Water  Street,  as  Chicago's  historic  produce  dis- 
tribution center,  defeats  its  own  vital  ends  and  the  re- 
moval of  this  great  business  and  relocation  elsewhere 
is  believed  by  many  to  be  necessary  to  Chicago's  recon- 
struction and  progress.  The  authorized  improvement 
of  South  Water  Street  according  to  the  Chicago  Plan 
extends  from  the  new  Michigan  Avenue  bridge  to  the 
Washington  Street  bridge  and  Market  Street,  a  distance 
of  more  than  half  a  mile.  It  is  proposed  to  complete 
the  marginal  street  along  the  Chicago  River,  connecting 
the  South  Water  Street  improvement  with  Roosevelt  Road 
and  extending  it  south  into  and  beyond  the  great  terminal 
area.  The  service  of  such  a  street  by  reduction  of  traffic 
congestion  in  the  city's  heart  would  be  as  much  as  16  per 
cent,  acting  in  the  removal  of  15,714  vehicle  trips  per 
day.  Property  valuations  would  also  greatly  increase. 

Features  of  Reconstruction 

The  modernizing  of  South  Water  Street  calls  for  a  two- 
level  thoroughfare.  The  upper  level  will  open  from 
the  proposed  plaza  at  the  south  end  of  the  new  Michi- 
gan Avenue  bridge,  and  this  level  will  appear  to  be  a 
part  of  the  normal  adjacent  street  system.  The  lower 
level  will  form  an  open,  uncovered  dock  25  feet  wide, 
accessible  from  the  capacious  double  roadways  of  this 
level,  where  the  trucking  traffic  will  be  carried.  The 

159 


O.S 


upper  level  will  not  resemble  an  elevated  structure. 
West  from  State  Street  it  will  be  carried  on  a  masonry 
wall  of  fine  architectural  treatment,  with  arched  open- 
ings for  lighting  the  lower  level.  The  improvement  will 
offer  opportunity  for  architectural  effects  in  connection 
with  the  new  bascule  bridges.  The  whole  river  front 
scheme  will  follow  similar  lines,  although  not  neces- 
sarily two  level,  south  to  the  great  freight  terminal  area. 
Those  who  surveyed  all  Chicago  when  they  composed 
the  Burnham  Plan — Chicago  Plan — gave  due  thought 
to  system  and  harmony  and  therefore  to  the  need  of  the 
improvement  and  reorganization  of  the  city's  trade  ter- 
minals. Recommendation  was  made  for  a  common 
freight  handling  center  properly  related  to  all  railroads 
in  the  downtown  district  and  to  the  docks.  The  Plan 
Commission  soon  thought  that  to  realize  its  great  under- 
taking the  solution  of  the  terminal  situation  was  essen- 
tial, and  the  commission's  advance  upon  this  problem  led 
other  architects  and  engineers  to  study  the  subject  and 
evolve  plans  for  terminal  development.  In  time  re- 
sulted what  is  known  as  the  Union  Station  ordinance 
and  Pennsylvania  freight  ordinance  passed  by  the  city 
council  March  23,  1914,  and  afterwards  accepted  by  the 
railroads  interested.  These  ordinances  benefited  both 
city  and  railroads.  Among  the  advantages  were  the  fol- 
lowing: 

Benefits  Both  to  Railways  and  Public 

Widening  of  viaducts  between  Canal  Street  and  the 
river  to  the  full  width  of  the  street  at  uniform  grades. 

Opening  of  Monroe  Street  between  Canal  Street  and 
the  river. 

Widening  of  Canal  Street  and  establishment  of  a  more 
uniform  grade. 

Provision  for  a  double-decked  connection  between 
Canal  Street  and  the  North  Side. 

Provision  for  the  ultimate  opening  of  Congress  Street 
to  the  width  contemplated  in  the  Chicago  Plan. 

Agreement  to  co-operate  in  the  straightening  of  the 
Chicago  River,  and  steps  to  bring  about  this  straighten- 
ing between  Polk  and  Sixteenth  Streets  have  lately  been 
taken  by  the  city  council. 

Chicago's  freight  terminal  situation  is  a  major  prob- 

161 


lem  of  its  future.  All  interests  can  agree  that  here  is 
unnecessary  and  uneconomic  duplication  of  freight  and 
passenger  facilities  and  services,  because  these  terminals 
are  neither  located,  constructed  nor  operated  as  they 
should  be,  whether  viewed  from  the  municipal  or  rail- 
road point  of  view.  It  is  a  matter  of  unregulated  devel- 
opment; the  question  is  one  of  improvement. 

The  Chicago  Plan  Commission — and  the  Chicago  Ter- 
minal Commission  so  recommends — believes  that  serious 
study  should  be  given  to  the  advantages  of  the  two  or 
three-level  plan  in  the  development  of  great  facilities 
in  congested  areas.  Such  a  plan  increases  the  capacity 
of  a  given  area  much  over  100  per  cent.  It  permits  the 
use  of  greater  space  for  standing  teams  and  trucks  and 
makes  possible  the  opening  of  thoroughfares  above  the 
tracks  and  more  intensive  railroad  uses  upon  the  lower 
level,  thus  increasing  the  value  of  these  facilities  for  re- 
ceipt and  delivery  of  freight. 

Co-operative  Freight  Stations 

A  railroad  usually  finds  operating  advantages  in  the 
separation  of  freight  and  passenger  terminals.  This  fact 
is  of  great  practical  importance  in  preparing  for  the 
electrification  of  railroad  terminals.  The  cost  of  electri- 
fication will  be  much  reduced  by  simplification  and 
unifying  the  passenger  tracks  entering  the  city  by  re- 
moving the  present  tangle  of  cross  lines,  by  establishing 
direct  instead  of  round-about  routes  around  the  city,  and 
by  the  joint  use  of  tracks  available  for  and  adequate 
for  more  railway  companies  than  now  use  these  particu- 
lar tracks.  The  Chicago  Plan  Commission  believes  that 
the  adoption  of  outlying  co-operative  freight  stations 
would  greatly  simplify  the  electrification  of  the  more 
central  freight  terminals  and  tracks.  In  this  field  of 
study  consideration  has  been  given  to  the  territory  be- 
tween the  south  branch  of  the  Chicago  River  and  State 
Street  and  north  of  Eighteenth  Street,  because  here  the 
terminals  offer  the  greatest  obstruction.  Here,  the  city 
planning  authorities  point  out,  is  a  situation  which  would 
lend  itself  well  to  the  application  of  the  principle  of  co- 
operative operation.  In  all  such  planning  effort  has 
been  made  to  secure  the  elimination  of  present  railroad 
grade  crossings  and  opening  up  of  streets  for  uninter- 

162 


rupted  traffic  without  interference  with  railroad  develop- 
ment. 

Straightening  Chicago  River 

In  many  respects  the  straightening  of  the  Chicago 
River  is  the  most  important  single  step  that  can  be  taken 
to  improve  the  central  terminal  area.  There  is  proposed 
a  direct  channel  between  Polk  Street  and  Dodge  Street, 
which  would  permit  extension  of  Franklin  Street  and 
streets  east  of  Franklin  as  north  and  south  thorough- 
fares. Railroads  own  about  all  of  the  property  involved. 
The  present  curve  or  bend  in  the  river's  channel  south 
of  Twelfth  Street  makes  it  very  difficult  to  develop  the 
land  lying  between  Dodge  Street  and  the  river.  By 
straightening  the  river,  as  the  city  council  has  very  re- 
cently proposed  to  do,  the  land  lying  between  Clark 
Street  and  the  present  river  channel  would  be  capable  of 
harmonious  development  along  normal  rectangular  lines. 

Terminal  accommodations  are  already  provided  for 
the  railroads  now  using  the  present  Union  Station  on 
Canal  Street,  and  there  are  enough  to  care  for  other 
roads  entering  the  city  on  the  west  which  should  logi- 
cally use  this  station.  The  Illinois  Central  site  on  Roose- 
velt Road  could  assemble  all  or  most  of  the  through 
trains  of  the  South  Side,  and  such  a  station  at  the  south 
end  of  Grant  Park  offers  opportunity  for  splendid  archi- 
tectural effect,  and  the  broad  right  of  way  southward 
for  several  miles  along  the  lake  with  no  grade  crossings 
makes  the  avenue  of  approach  to  the  greater  Chicago  of 
tomorrow  of  superior  attractiveness. 

It  should  here  be  said  that  the  proper  method  of  ar- 
ranging for  accommodation  of  the  suburban  service  of 
all  railroads  has  not  been  worked  out,  but  this  problem 
can  be  solved.  A  plan  might  contemplate  an  under- 
ground railroad  connecting  the  terminals,  permitting  of 
a  direct  interchance  of  passengers  between  these  ter- 
minals on  an  overlapping  basis  and  the  routing  of  sub- 
urban trains  so  as  to  eliminate  existing  congestion. 

The  Public  Sees  and  Approves  the  Plan 

In  such  late  Chicago  Plan  undertakings  as  appear  in 
the  widening  of  Michigan  Avenue,  construction  of  the 
splendid  two-level  bascule  bridge  and  developing  of  the 

163 


164 


avenue's  extension  to  the  lake  shore  at  the  water  works 
— one  of  the  world's  spacious  city  improvements  and  to 
become  a  boulevard  of  international  distinction — the 
Chicago  public  has  seen  initial  steps  in  the  realization 
of  the  Plan,  and  a  pride  and  confidence  has  been  nour- 
ished which  was  begotten  when  with  the  Plan's  original 
promulgation  its  creators  projected  the  spectacle  of  a 
magnified  and  beautified  lake  front  from  the  north  city 
limits  to  Jackson  Park.  With  fundamental  features  of 
communication  under  execution  like  the  "boulevard 
link"  and  Roosevelt  Road,  lately  Twelfth  Street,  the 
people  the  more  eagerly  await  consideration  of  such 
grand  elements  of  the  Plan  as  establishment  of  a  civic 
center,  development  of  the  lake  front,  improvement  of 
South  Water  Street,  widening  and  extension  of  streets. 

By  the  Chicago  Plan  is  proposed  the  making  of  a  lake 
front  park  of  about  1,700  acres,  of  which  1,500  will  be 
land  area,  and  the  scheme  would  be  worked  out  in  con- 
nection with  a  commercial  harbor,  if  such  should  be 
built,  known  as  harbor  district  No.  3.  The  park  would 
stretch  from  Grant  Park  to  Jackson  Park  and  the  har- 
bor from  Sixteenth  Street  to  Thirty-first  Street.  Much 
filling  in  would  be  required.  Very  extensive  bathing 
beaches,  a  lagoon  providing  a  four-mile  racing  course, 
and  adequate  harbors  for  many  small  craft  are  contem- 
plated. The  lagoon  of  protected  water  provides  ideal 
conditions  for  a  great  skating  rink,  and  in  such  enclosed 
lake  rowing  and  canoeing  is  practical  at  all  times  during 
the  summer  season. 

Greater  Development  of  Bathing  Beaches 

The  people's  resort  to  the  lake  for  its  bathing  de- 
lights has  been  a  significant  movement  in  the  field  of 
public  amusement  and  health  within  the  last  few  years, 
and  bathers  have  had  to  be  accommodated  by  ten  public 
beaches  and  at  the  North  Shore,  Manhattan,  Lake  Shore, 
Chicago  Beach  Hotel  and  other  private  beaches.  All 
these  beaches,  public  and  private,  had  a  total  capacity 
of  about  175,000  people  daily  in  1916,  and  their  use  has 
been  about  doubled  since  that  date. 

The  proposed  plan  of  the  lake  front  provides  for  five 
beaches  in  addition  to  all  existing,  having  a  total  ca- 
pacity of  about  200,000  people  daily.  While  the  ca- 

165 


pacity  of  the  proposed  lagoon  beaches  is  really  limited 
only  by  the  length  of  the  water  front  from  Grant  Park 
to  Jackson  Park,  the  capacity  of  the  public  beaches  is 
largely  dependent  upon  the  amount  of  dressing-room 
space.  The  danger  of  pollution  of  the  water  will  be 
diminished  as  congestion  is  diminished,  whether  the 
beaches  are  located  in  the  lagoon  or  on  the  open  shore. 
Numerous  cross-town  car  lines  will  bring  this  entire  lake 
front  development  in  close  touch  with  the  West  Side, 
where  the  greatest  need  for  access  to  the  lake  exists. 

Already  completed  is  the  first  piece  of  the  general 
Grant  Park  improvement  scheme  shown  by  the  beautifi- 
cation  of  the  strip  along  Michigan  Avenue  between  the 
Art  Institute  and  Randolph  Street,  where  the  sunken 
grassy  area  stretches  northward  to  the  stately  peristyle 
and  fountain  bordering  upon  Randolph  Street  and  the 
southern  end  of  the  widened  portion  of  Michigan  Ave- 
nue. The  treatment  of  the  strip  south  of  the  Art  Insti- 
tute to  the  proposed  Union  station  on  Roosevelt  Road 
will  be  mainly  similar  to  that  of  the  north  strip,  a 
colonnade  and  fountain  balancing  the  fountain  of  the 
"Great  Lakes."  The  plan  for  the  whole  Grant  Park  im- 
provement from  Randolph  to  Twelfth  Streets,  east  and 
west  of  the  railroad  tracks,  has  been  prepared,  and 
funds  provided  by  bond  issue. 

Grant  Park  an  All-Chicago  Meeting  Place 

Grant  Park,  raw  and  unfinished  as  it  is,  has  become 
an  important  factor  in  Chicago's  larger  life,  place  for 
public  celebrations,  for  the  formation  of  parades,  and 
for  such  great  demonstrations  as  the  military  tourna- 
ment of  1910,  the  aviation  meet  of  1912,  the  Knights 
of  Pythias  celebration  of  1917,  a  review  of  the  draft 
army,  war  exposition  in  1918,  with  an  attendance  of 
over  one  and  one-half  million,  and  the  armistice  day 
celebration.  Grant  Park  is  an  indispensable  utility 
emerging  into  a  state  of  order  and  beauty.  One  obvious 
use  of  this  area,  as  proven  by  intensive  current  practice, 
will  be  its  many-sided  service  as  an  athletic  field. 

Features  of  Superb  Improvement 

By  the  provisions  of  the  Chicago  Plan  a  broad  street 
would  be  cut  through  Grant  Park  opposite  Congress 

166 


Street,  bridging  it  across  the  railroad,  and  expanding 
Michigan  Boulevard  into  a  large  plaza  almost  to  the 
tracks.  In  this  situation  Chicago  should  look  for  impor- 
tant adornment  in  sculpture,  and  in  the  broad  places 
following  this  imposing  entrance  to  the  Lake  Park.  On 
the  east  of  the  tracks  are  other  places  for  sculp- 
ture, and  here  would  be  the  concourse  laid  out  almost 
square  and  approached  through  little  wooded  spaces. 
Three  levels  are  planned,  each  leading  down  toward  the 


This  air  view  embraces  the  Grant  Park  area  under  develop- 
ment after  the  Chicago  Plan.  A  few  years  will  transform 
this  area  into  the  world's  most  splendid  water  front.  For  the 
near  side  of  the  massive  Field  Museum  is  planned  a  spacious 
and  architecturally  important  stadium. 

Permission    of    Ralph    C.    Diggins    Company. 

lake,  giving  a  finer  view  of  it  than  can  be  found  any- 
where on  the  present  lake  front.  Trees  would  surround 
the  concourse  on  all  sides  providing  natural  openings 
for  large  pieces  of  statuary,  and  it  is  believed  by  land- 
scape architects  that  statues  of  Washington  and  Lincoln 
would  fit  in  here  most  appropriately.  The  dimensions 
of  this  concourse  or  plaza  would  be  900  by  500  feet. 
There  would  be  provision  for  several  small  play-fields 
and  parking  space  for  automobiles,  and  at  the  north  and 
south  ends  of  the  lake  shore  would  be  facilities  for  boat 
houses,  and  to  cut  off  the  park  from  the  commercial  en- 
terprises between  it  and  the  Municipal  Pier  on  the  north 

167 


CHICAGO  PLAN  COMMISSION 


IMPROVEMENTS  EXECUTED,  IN  PROGRESS 
AND  PROPOSED 


SEPT.  1921 


E.KBENNETI 
CONSULTANT 


KEY 

EXECUTED 

UNDER  ORDINANCE    —  —   — 

PROPOSED 


Status  of  improvements  of  Chicago  Plan  Commission,  heavy  lines 

Map    drawn    for    this    book 

168 


rk  executed;  long  dashes  work  under  ordinance,  and  short  dashes 


lennett    and    Wm.    E.    Parsons. 


169 


New  Chicago  towers  begin  to  thrill  the  gazer,  and  more 

practical  bridges  with  lines  of  beauty  span  its  vital  stream. 

The    Michigan    Avenue    bridge    will    be    marked    by   four 

stately  pylons  bearing  sculpture  of  distinction. 

By    permission    of    Graham,    Anderson,    Probst    &    White,    architect*    of 
the    Wrigley    Building. 

170 


there  could  be  created,  by  a  fill-in,  a  wooded  area.  At 
the  south  end  a  similar  park  development  in  front  of 
the  Field  Museum  is  projected.  It  should  be  noted  in 
picturing  the  beauties  and  utilities  of  this  transformed 
region  that  a  bridge  should  span  the  mouth  of  the  Chi- 
cago River  connecting  the  south  lake  front  with  the  north 
lake  shore  thoroughfare  and  Municipal  Pier. 

Place  of  Honor  for  War  Memorial 

A  great  accomplishment  awaiting  Chicago,  in  keeping 
with  the  Chicago  Plan,  will  appear  in  conception  and 
erection  of  a  war  memorial  worthy  the  city  and  its  heroic 
sons.  The  metropolis  of  the  Central  West  devoutly 
acknowledges  the  patriotic  duty  which  the  near  future 
will  command  it  to  perform.  Public  sentiment  is  yet  to 
determine  the  nature  and  location  of  this  memorial,  but, 
be  it  monument  or  community  building  or  in  other  form, 
its  purpose  requires  that  it  be  given  the  chief  place  of 
honor  in  all  Chicago,  and  it  is  tentatively  proposed  by 
the  Chicago  Plan  consultant  that  it  take  the  form  of  a 
commemorative  monument  and  find  its  site  in  Grant  Park. 
It  is  pointed  out  that  Chicago  has  on  its  lake  front  an 
opportunity  unique  among  the  larger  cities  of  America, 
and  in  the  proximity  of  the  memorial,  if  placed  in  Grant 
Park,  to  other  features  of  the  Chicago  Plan,  and  near  by 
Michigan  Avenue,  which  is  assuming  the  superb  char- 
acter of  the  main  highway  of  a  great  metropolis,  there 
would  be  accomplished  what  the  people  desire  in  such  a 
tribute  and  what  the  Chicago  Plan  invites  in  the  nature 
of  its  principles. 

The  memorial  as  proposed  would  be  for  the  most  part 
beyond  the  railroad  tracks  and  would  fit  in  as  an  in- 
tegral part  of  the  park  plan.  The  site  of  the  memorial 
would  be  on  the  central  axial  line,  that  is,  on  Congress 
Street  extended,  of  the  whole  arrangement  of  the  plan 
of  the  city  of  Chicago,  as  place  of  honor  standing  first. 

Memorial's   Stately   Setting  Victory   Concourse 

The  idea  calls  for  a  plaza  on  Michigan  Avenue  west 
of  the  tracks,  which  might  be  known  as  Michigan  Place, 
and  could  extend  on  a  great  causeway  to  the  east.  Here 
would  be  raised  the  memorial.  Its  setting  would  be  the 
place  of  assembly  900  feet  by  450  feet  wide,  to  be  known 

171 


as  the  "Victory  Concourse,"  the  latter  surrounded  by 
monuments,  the  chief  of  these  to  be  known  as  the  "Me- 
morial Arch,"  with  colonnades  or  peristyles  to  be  erected 
to  the  men  and  women  of  the  war.  This  motif  running 
parallel  to  Michigan  Avenue  and  visible  from  it  would 
consist  of  colonnades,  each  about  250  feet  long,  and  a 


A  view  from  the  air,  looking  toward  the  lake,  of  Chicago's 
intensely  developed  Loop.  In  the  middle  ground  is  a  great 
business  house  of  famous  name,  with  the  Northwestern 
Railway  Station  lying  nearer  the  observer.  Distant  to  the 
far  right  is  the  Field  Museum.  New  bascule  bridges  span 
the  Chicago  River.  Dimly  on  the  city's  lake  edge  stretches 
Grant  Park,  rich  in  the  potentialities  of  beauty  and  utility. 
This  view  is  declared  the  first  aerial  picture  of  the  entire 
central  business  district. 

Photographed    and    copyrighted    by    Ralph    C.    Diggins    Co. 

central  arch  on  the  axial  line  of  Congress  Street  and  of 
somewhat  the  general  proportions  of  the  world's  most 
majestic  structure  of  its  kind,  the  Arch  of  Triumph  in 
Paris. 

A  Splendid  Proposal 

The  commemorative  monument  proper  would  rise  to  a 
height  of  about  140  feet.  Within  the  arch  and  the  peri- 
styles, and  in  its  sculptured  surfaces  and  groups,  the 
events  of  the  war  would  be  commemorated  and  the 

172 


names  of  the  dead  inscribed.  At  night  the  whole  group 
would  be  moderately  illuminated.  On  the  north  of  the 
concourse  would  be  an  altar  of  justice  and  on  the  south 
an  altar  of  liberty,  and  on  the  east  monuments  to  the 
Allied  nations,  somewhat  similar  to  those  of  the  Place 
de  la  Concorde  in  Paris,  and  there  might  be  a  monu- 
ment to  Allied  statesmen  and  generals  and  a  monument 
to  peace.  East  of  such  a  grand  arrangement  as  the  "Vic- 
tory Concourse"  would  be,  by  the  plan  already  adopted, 
a  great  public  garden,  and  to  the  north  playgrounds  and 
drives  with  arrangements  of  trees  and  the  monument  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  now  about  to  be  erected.  To  the  south 
beyond  the  noble  Field  Museum  a  great  open  air  stadium 
capable  of  seating  75,000  people  is  among  the  assured 
improvements  of  the  future.  Within  such  environment 
Chicago's  war  memorial  would  be  taken  as  a  splendid 
possession  into  the  heart  of  the  city's  life. 

Status  of  Plan  Projects 

The  board  of  local  improvement  is  carrying  out  seven 
street  improvements  proposed  in  the  Chicago  Plan,  chief 
among  the  projects  being  the  Michigan  Avenue  develop- 
ment with  its  magnificent  bridge,  already  a  practical  im- 
provement; work  on  the  Roosevelt  Road  assures  the  peo- 
ple of  the  enjoyment  of  an  important  east  and  west  high- 
way, and  the  transformation  of  South  Water  Street  has 
been  ordered  by  the  city  council.  Projects  awaiting  de- 
velopment in  the  near  future  are  the  opening,  widening 
and  extension  of  Western  Avenue,  Ashland  Avenue, 
Robey  Street  and  Ogden  Avenue.  At  present  eighty- 
seven  different  projects  in  every  section  of  Chicago,  and 
of  interest  to  the  people  of  every  class  and  location,  are 
pending  before  the  Chicago  Plan  Commission  for  con- 
sideration. These  relate  to  improvement  of  street  fa- 
cilities in  outlying  districts,  the  making  of  roads  radiat- 
ing out  from  and  encircling  Chicago,  the  establishing 
of  a  new  traffic  circuit  girdling  the  city  from  Lake  Michi- 
gan on  the  north  to  the  lake  on  the  south  and  extending 
for  miles  through  the  forest  preserves  system  along  the 
Desplaines  River. 

Plan  Commission's  Improvement  Schedules 

The  Chicago  Plan  Commission,  realizing  the  principles 
and  projects  of  the  Chicago  Plan,  is  a  body  that  designs 

173 


and  recommends  physical  improvements  for  Chicago  but 
is  not  charged  with  their  execution.  This  is  the  province 
of  the  city  government.  Within  the  service  of  the  Chi- 
cago Plan  Commission  are  undertakings  of  two  classes, 
those  designated  as  "new,"  and  those  as  "in  the  making." 
The  location,  and  to  some  degree  the  relative  signifi- 
cance, of  these  improvements  receiving  official  considera- 
tion are  herewith  indicated  by  their  characteristic  names, 
although  space  limits  forbid  further  description  of  each 
project: 


IMPROVEMENTS    OF    GENERAL    INTEREST 


NEW 

New   Union   passenger   station 

district 

Archer  Avenue 
Ashland  Avenue 
Clark  Street 
Cottage  Grove  Avenue 
Dearborn  Street 
Federal  Street 
Indiana  Avenue 
La  SaUe  Street 
Market  Street 
Outer  Circuit 
Pershing  Road 
Plymouth  Court 
Polk   Street 
Post  office 
Robey  Street 
Section   and   half   section   line 

streets 

Sherman  Street 
State  Street 
Wells  Street 


IN  THE  MAKING 

Canal  Street 

Forest   Preserves 

Lake  front  park  and  harbor  plan 

Indiana  Avenue 

Ogden  Avenue 

Outer  drive  (bridge  near  shore 
connecting  north  and  south 
side  boulevard  systems) 

Polk  Street 

River  straightening 

Roosevelt  Road 

South  Park  Avenue 

South  Water  Street 

West  Side  railway  terminals 

Western  Avenue 


NORTH  SIDE 


Ashland  Avenue 
Bryn  Mawr  Avenue 
Clark  Street 
Devon  Avenue 
Lincoln  Avenue 
Foster  Avenue 
Rogers  Avenue 
Sanitary  District  Road 
Sheridan  Road 
Tower  Court 
Wrightwood  Avenue 


Fullerton  Avenue 
Peterson  Avenue 
Ravenswood  Avenue 
Ridge  Avenue 
Wrightwood  Avenue 


174 


SOUTH  SIDE 

Blackwell  Street  Beverly  Avenue 

Charles  Street  Fourteenth   Street 

Cottage  Grove  Avenue  Loomis  Street 

Eighteenth  Street  One  Hundred  and  Third  Street 

Eighty-seventh  Street  Seventy-first  Street 

Fifteenth  Street  Sixteenth  Street 

Fifty-fifth  Street  Torrence  Avenue 

Lake  Calumet  region  Twenty-second  Street 

Ninety-fifth  Street 

Oakwood   Boulevard 

One  Hundred  and  Third  Street 

One  Hundred  and  Eleventh  Street 

One   Hundred   and   Thirteenth 

Street 
One  Hundred  and  Thirty-fourth 

Street 

Sixteenth  Street 
Stony  Island  Avenue 
Taylor  Street 
Torrence  Avenue 
Twenty-second  Street 
Vincennes  Road 
Wentworth  Avenue 

WEST  SIDE 

Avondale  Avenue  Fifth  Avenue   (Colorado  Avenue) 

Cicero  Avenue  Milwaukee  Avenue 

Clinton  Street  Randolph  Street 

Congress  Street  Van   Buren  Street    (viaduct) 

Crawford  Avenue 

Desplaines  Street 

Harrison  Street    (completed) 

Halsted  Street 

Jefferson  Street 

Kedzie  Avenue 

Madison   Street 

Sanitary  District  Road 

Taylor  Street    (viaduct  completed) 

Van  Buren  Street 


175 


SUBWAYS 


Chicago's  Local  Transportation  Problem  a  Transportation 

Problem  Only,  and  Ought  Not  to  Be.  Clouded 

With  Other  Issues 


Chicago  with  a  surface  line  transportation  system  of 
more  than  1,000  miles  of  tracks — the  largest  single  street 
car  system  in  the  world — and  an  elevated  system  totaling 
166  miles  of  tracks,  still  finds  its  local  transportation 
service  inadequate  at  certain  times  of  the  day  and  faces 
the  task  of  supplementing  the  service  afforded  by  existing 
facilities. 

The  need  of  greatly  increased  capacity  for  transporting 
people  rapidly  and  comfortably  between  their  homes  and 
places  of  business — for  the  rush  hour  problem  is  the 
most  serious — has  been  clearly  understood  by  the  public 
for  the  past  twenty  years.  This  being  true,  one  may  won- 
der why  in  all  these  years  so  little  real  progress  has 
been  made.  Almost  from  the  beginning  the  public  has 
been  united  in  the  belief  that  subways  were  needed  to 
supplement  the  service  of  our  surface  and  elevated  lines. 

Beyond  this  fundamental  proposition,  however,  agree- 
ment has  ended  and  controversial  issues  have  crept  in. 
Whether  the  subways  should  be  built  to  compete  with  or 
supplement  existing  means,  whether  they  should  be  mu- 
nicipally or  privately  owned  and  operated,  whether  they 
should  be  built  by  city  money  or  traction  company 
money,  whether  they  should  spread  out  over  the  entire 
city,  or  be  confined  to  the  central  business  area,  whether 
they  should  be  designed  to  make  it  more  easy  or  more 
difficult  to  get  downtown,  whether  the  rate  of  fare  should 
be  changed,  what  shall  be  the  method  of  controlling  and 
operating  a  unified  traction  system — these  and  many 
other  questions  have  been  the  subject  of  endless  re- 
ports, endless  discussions,  much  political  activity  and  no 
accomplishments. 

In  1916,  the  date  of  the  report  of  the  Chicago  Trac- 
tion and  Subway  Commission,  there  were  more  than 
4,000,000  passengers  carried  daily  on  the  city's  surface 
and  elevated  lines,  and  about  160,000  on  steam  and  elec- 

176 


trie  interiirban  lines.    Today  the  traffic  is  surely  as  heavy, 
and  probably  greatly  increased. 

Requirements  of  Central  Business  District 

Physically,  Chicago  is  about  26  miles  in  length,  about 
8  miles  wide  and  with  an  area  of  200  square  miles.  With 
the  immense  traffic  load  carried  daily  it  is  a  remarkable 
fact  disclosed  by  this  study  that  48  per  cent  of  the  car- 
riding  public  work  within  an  area  of  5  square  miles,  em- 
bracing the  central  business  district.  In  a  similar  area  of 
12  square  miles  53  per  cent  of  the  people  work,  and  in 
an  area  of  23.5  square  miles  63  per  cent  find  employ- 
ment. 

Despite  tendencies  in  recent  years  for  business  and 
industrial  concerns  to  seek  locations  removed  from  the 
central  business  district,  the  above  facts  prove  without 
contradiction  that  any  subway  system  which  helps  to 
carry  the  public  to  and  from  their  place  of  business  must 
make  ample  provision  for  the  central  business  area.  This 
statement  is  not  intended  to  ignore  those  important  out- 
lying business  and  industrial  centers  whose  rapid  devel- 
opment in  recent  years  has  brought  transportation  prob- 
lems of  local  character  fully  as  important  to  them  as 
those  of  the  loop  district. 

Chicago's  transportation  problem  is  city-wide  and  any 
solution  attempted  must  regard  it  in  this  light.  It  is 
undoubtedly  true,  as  outlying  interests  have  alleged,  that 
Chicago  needs  subway  or  elevated  lines  to  afford  better 
communication  between  outside  centers  without  com- 
pelling a  trip  through  the  central  business  district.  This 
requirement  can  easily  be  met  in  any  well  considered 
plan  of  improvement. 

One  Unified  System 

The  question  of  a  unified  system  of  local  transportation 
operating  under  one  management,  and  with  ownership 
under  one  body,  may  perhaps  be  considered  controver- 
sial, yet  it  is  believed  by  many  that  if  this  one  question 
were  submitted  to  public  referendum  with  all  other  de- 
batable issues  removed,  it  would  receive  the  support  of  a 
large  majority.  Leaving  aside  the  questions  of  munici- 
pal or  private  ownership  and  operation,  it  must  be  ap- 
parent that  one  unified  system  under  single  ownership 

177 


and  management  can  be  more  economically  operated  and 
more  effectively  moulded  to  serve  the  public  than  two  or 
more  competing  systems  separately  owned  and  managed. 
The  public  will  be  largely  satisfied  when  it  can  secure 
good  service  at  a  fair  price  and  it  is  therefore  legitimately 
interested  in  any  method  which  promises  such  service. 

It  may  perhaps  be  worth  while  to  suggest  that  much 
progress  in  reaching  a  solution  of  Chicago's  transporta- 
tion problem  may  be  made  by  considering  a  few  of  the 
fundamentals  involved  in  city-wide  conferences  held  be- 
tween election  periods  and  when  the  opportunity  to  arrive 
at  calm  judgments  is  perhaps  more  favorable. 

Discussion  of  subway  financing  involves  questions  of  a 
debatable  nature  and  immediately  brings  up  the  old  ques- 
tion of  municipal  versus  private  ownership.  On  this 
question  it  may  be  observed  that  too  often  the  funda- 
mental of  service  to  the  public  has  been  forgotten  and 
plans  supported  or  opposed  solely  upon  the  question 
of  whether  they  carried  the  proper  label.  The  real  issue 
is  not  the  type  of  ownership  or  Chicago's  ability  to 
finance  subways  or  other  transportation  improvements. 
The  chief  difficulty  has  been  the  public's  apparent  will- 
ingness to  be  led  astray  by  well  phrased  issues  actually 
not  fundamental. 

Let  the  People  Understand  and  Act 

Chicago  must  and  will  work  out  her  transportation 
problem  within  the  coming  few  years  if  she  is  to  hold 
her  splendid  development.  If  this  city  seriously  wants 
to  get  a  real  transportation  system,  giving  every  part  of 
the  city  satisfactory  service,  for  one  thing  it  will  keep 
everlastingly  at  it  instead  of  permitting  the  question  to 
sleep  and  to  be  brought  forth  periodically  as  a  political 
issue.  Greatest  public  attention  will  be  devoted  to  the 
issue  between  election  periods.  The  aim  will  be  to  secure 
city-wide  understanding  of  the  problem.  The  fundamen- 
tal of  service  must  not  be  clouded  by  other  issues.  Chi- 
cago will  first  work  out  the  best  plan  which  will  provide 
the  service;  it  will  then  endeavor  to  adjust  the  financing 
to  bring  the  plan  into  being;  it  will  not  be  misled  by 
arbitrary  rates  of  fare  proposed,  but  will  work  out  and 
stand  for  that  rate,  which  will,  step  by  step,  transfer  the 
plan  into  a  reality. 

178 


Had  the  wonderful  Chicago  Plan  been  submitted  as  a 
whole  to  public  referendum  shortly  after  1908,  when  it 
was  born,  it  would  undoubtedly  have  been  rejected  be- 
cause of  lack  of  appreciation  of  its  benefits.  Instead,  the 
Chicago  Plan  Commission  has  educated  the  public  to 
understand  what  the  city  plan  means,  and  step  by  step 
is  bringing  it  into  being.  Yet  every  few  years  there  is 
brought  forth  in  Chicago  a  complicated  transportation 
plan,  including  subways,  and  before  the  public  fully 
understands  its  provisions,  they  are  asked  to  approve  the 
plan  as  a  whole.  Is  there  not  a  lesson  Chicago  can 
learn  from  past  experience  in  subway  and  transportation 
planning? 


179 


RAILWAY  TERMINALS 


Principles  of  Railway  Terminal  and  Plan  Commissions  to 

Get  Greater  Efficiency  in  Handling  Passenger  and 

Freight  Traffic  and  Develop  New  Areas  for 

Commerce  and  Industry 


In  the  year  of  the  outbreak  of  the  great  war,  1914,  the 
world's  railway  center,  acting  through  its  city  council, 
created  the  Chicago  Railway  Terminal  Commission,  and 
in  that  year  was  visited  Toronto,  Montreal,  Boston,  New 
York,  Liverpool,  Manchester,  London,  Paris,  Brussels  and 
Antwerp,  and  it  was  the  plan  of  the  commission  to  in- 
spect rail  and  water  terminals  in  Frankfort,  Hamburg, 
Berlin,  Dresden,  Vienna,  Budapest,  Kiel,  Copenhagen 
and  Stockholm,  but  the  outbreak  of  the  war  arrested  the 
tour  of  the  party  in  Belgium.  Of  much  value,  however, 
was  the  expedition  and,  fortified  by  its  discoveries,  by 
previous  study  by  the  city  council,  by  the  voluntary  work 
of  civilian  experts  and  the  service  of  the  Chicago  Plan 
Commission,  the  Chicago  Railway  Terminal  Commission 
came  to  a  determination  of  fundamental  principles  which 
contemplated  economy  and  efficiency  in  the  work  of  the 
railroads  in  handling  passenger  and  freight  traffic,  in 
promoting  the  interests  of  shippers  and  passengers,  in 
enabling  the  general  public  to  conduct  its  business  with 
the  least  practicable  congestion  of  streets  and  interference 
with  the  expansion  of  present  business  districts  and  de- 
velopment of  new  areas  of  commerce  and  industry,  and 
in  enabling  the  city  as  a  whole  to  shape  its  general  de- 
velopment policies  for  the  general  good. 

Co-operation   in  Terminal   Administration 

The  problem  of  the  railway  terminal  expert  relates  not 
to  the  scientific  creation  of  terminals  in  an  unbuilt  city, 
but  to  the  readjustment  of  railroad  terminal  facilities  in 
an  unordered  and  complex  community.  A  single  ter- 
minal company  could  operate  a  combined  and  co-opera- 
tive terminal  system  with  decrease  of  cost  and  increase 
of  efficiency.  Considerations  that  brought  about  union 
passenger  stations  at  railroad  centers  has  compelled 

180 


favorable  consideration  of  union  freight  terminal  plans, 
and  the  public  has  realized  the  convenience  of  co-opera- 
tive terminal  facilities  for  passenger  traffic,  although  im- 
portant instances  exist  of  competitive  passenger  terminals. 
It  is  the  belief  of  the  Chicago  Railway  Terminal  Com- 
mission that  in  the  terminal  handling  of  freight  the 
pressure  of  the  public  and  the  needs  of  the  railroads  will 
gradually  bring  about  the  adoption  of  co-operative  meth- 
ods and  facilities  in  place  of  competitive  methods  and 
facilities,  and  it  is  further  the  conclusion  of  the  commis- 
sion that  the  key  to  the  solution  of  Chicago's  railway 
terminal  problem  respecting  both  freight  and  passengers 
is  to  be  found  in  joint  and  co-operative  rather  than  in 
separate  and  competitive  terminals. 

If  the  terminal  situation  were  treated  co-operatively 
there  would  be  simplification  at  once  of  the  tangled  net- 
work of  tracks,  release  for  business  of  valuable  property 
now  held  by  the  railroads  for  present  competitive  pur- 
poses or  prospective  competitive  needs,  reduction  of 
operating  costs  and  increase  in  efficiency.  As  to  subur- 
ban and  through  passenger  service,  the  two  classes  do  not 
require  the  same  accommodations.  Various  services  can 
be  co-ordinated  with  great  advantage  and  so  secure  the 
more  intensive  use  of  rights  of  way. 

Less  Than  Carload  Traffic 

It  is  thought  many  existing  disadvantages  in  the 
handling  of  less  than  carload  traffic  might  be  obviated 
by  loading  such  freight  at  receiving  stations  or  team 
tracks  directly  into  trap  cars  for  outlying  stations  or 
yards  located  on  less  valuable  property  and  equipped 
for  sorting  and  schedule  loading  of  L.  C.  L.  freight. 
Indeed,  the  commission  would  apply  the  co-operative 
principle  by  establishing  in  centers  of  traffic  some  uni- 
versal freight  receiving  stations  for  outbound  L.  C.  L. 
freight.  This  would  reduce  unnecessary  teaming  and 
street  congestion.  The  commission  favors  consideration 
of  the  two  or  more  level  plan  in  the  future  development 
of  freight  facilities  in  congested  areas. 

Forthcoming  electrification  would  be  greatly  reduced 
by  simplifying  and  unifying  the  passenger  tracks  enter- 
ing the  city;  by  removing  the  present  tangle  of  lines; 
by  establishment  of  direct  instead  of  roundabout  routes 

181 


within  the  city;  and  by  the  joint  use  of  tracks  available 
for  and  adequate  for  more  railway  companies  than  those 
which  now  utilize  these  particular  tracks.  The  adoption 
of  outlying  co-operative  freight  stations  would  greatly 
simplify  the  electrification  of  more  central  freight  ter- 
minals and  tracks. 


Since  its  creation  the  Railway  Terminal  Commission 
has  acted  in  an  advisory  capacity  to  the  city  council  on 
all  matters  pertaining  to  railway  terminals.  In  this  way 
it  has  been  enabled  to  direct  all  actions  of  the  council 
in  matters  pertaining  to  them. 

After  the  passage  of  the  West  Side  union  station  ordi- 
nance, the  two  problems  of  greatest  importance  as  affect- 
ing the  terminal  situation  in  the  central  business  district 
were:  first,  the  development  of  an  adequate  passenger 
terminal  station  on  the  property  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  on  the  lake  front  and  Roosevelt  Road;  second, 
the  straightening  of  the  Chicago  River  and  the  rearrange- 
ment and  consolidation  of  railroad  terminal  facilities  in 
the  territory  south  of  the  Loop  district  between  State 
Street  and  the  Chicago  River. 

The  passage  by  the  city  council  July  21,  1919,  of 
the  so-called  Illinois  Central-lake  front  ordinance  was 
the  culmination  of  several  years'  intensive  work  on  the 
part  of  the  commission  and  was  considered  one  of  the 
most  important  developments  in  connection  with  the  rail- 
way terminal  problem  of  Chicago.  This  ordinance  pro- 
vides for  construction  of  a  passenger  station  on  the  lake 
front  at  Roosevelt  Road,  of  a  capacity  to  take  care  of 
all  the  direct  passenger  trains  now  using  the  Dearborn, 
LaSalle  and  Grand  Central  Stations.  The  interests  of 
prospective  tenants  in  this  station  are  amply  safeguarded 
in  the  ordinance  and  all  of  the  facilities  provide  for  the 
entrance  of  other  railroads  into  the  station.  This  ordi- 
nance was  drawn  entirely  by  the  Railway  Terminal  Com- 
mission and  all  of  the  work  thereto  originated  in  the 
office  of  the  commission. 

To  Straighten  Chicago  River 

Since  the  passage  of  the  Illinois  Central-lake  front 
ordinance,  the  commission,  in  addition  to  its  regular 
duties  of  passing  on  railway  terminal  matters,  has  given 
a  great  deal  of  time  to  the  consideration  of  the  railway 
terminal  situation  south  of  the  Loop  district.  The  studies 
in  connection  with  this  project  are  embodied  in  the  re- 
port submitted  by  the  chairman  in  March,  1921. 

Briefly,  this  report  recommends  the  straightening  of 
the  Chicago  River  between  Polk  Street  and  Sixteenth 
Street;  the  removal  of  the  three  existing  passenger  sta- 
tions; the  construction  of  a  sub-level  suburban  station 

183 


about  on  the  site  of  the  present  LaSalle  Street  Station; 
the  consolidation  and  concentration  of  all  of  the  rail- 
road facilities  in  the  territory  between  Clark  Street  and 
the  straightened  Chicago  River,  south  of  Taylor  Street 
and  between  Wells  Street  and  the  river  north  of  Roose- 
velt Road;  the  construction  of  freight  stations  in  this 
territory  on  a  two-level  plan  with  special  freight  house 
driveways  serving  the  freight  house  on  the  viaduct  level; 
the  opening  of  new  thoroughfare  streets  through  the  terri- 
tory on  the  viaduct  level  and  the  construction  of  the 
freight  facilities  so  that  it  will  be  possible  to  develop 
the  air  rights  over  the  railroad  freight  house  for  com- 
mercial purposes;  the  release  for  commercial  occupation 
of  all  the  territory  now  held  by  the  railroads  between 
Clark  Street  and  State  Street,  south  of  Polk  Street,  and 
between  Clark  Street  and  Wells  Street,  north  of  Taylor. 

Would  Open  Four  New  Streets 

Such  a  plan,  if  carried  out,  would  entirely  remove 
the  so-called  "iron  band"  which  is  preventing  the  south- 
ern expansion  of  the  Loop  district.  It  would  permit  the 
opening  of  four  new  thoroughfare  streets  leading  into 
the  district  from  the  south.  It  would  permit  of  the  devel- 
opment of  State  Street  south  of  Van  Buren  as  a  con- 
tinuous business  thoroughfare,  and  entirely  change  the 
general  aspect  of  all  of  the  territory  south  of  Van  Buren 
Street,  since  under  the  plan  the  railroad  facilities  would 
be  entirely  covered  by  commercial  property,  and  to  all 
intents  and  purposes  the  property  occupied  by  the  rail- 
roads would  have  the  same  appearance  as  other  com- 
mercial property. 

The  benefits  to  the  railroads  would  be  that  under  such 
a  plan  they  could  secure  double  their  present  facilities 
without  cost,  since  the  rental  on  air  rights  would  be  more 
than  sufficient  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  cost  of  the  rail- 
road facilities,  and  in  addition  thereto,  they  would  have 
available  what  has  been  conservatively  estimated  as  $60,- 
000,000  worth  of  property  no  longer  needed  for  railroad 
purposes. 

The  last  session  of  the  legislature  empowered  the  city 
to  straighten  the  Chicago  River  to  open  new  streets. 
The  city  council  has  instructed  the  commission  to  con- 
tinue the  study  of  the  subject  and  to  report. 

184 


ZONING   NEW   CHICAGO   TASK 


Commission  Acting  Under  Good  Law  Will  Attack  One  of 
the  Problems  of  Chicago  Plan 


In  a  primary  sort  of  way  Chicago,  as  early  as  1863, 
had  considered  the  location  of  certain  industries  with 
reference  to  their  nature.  From  1910  to  the  present  the 
city  ordinances  have  provided  that  in  residence  districts 
frontage  consents  shall  be  required  for  not  less  than 
twenty-seven  different  kinds  of  industries  and  buildings. 
When  the  legislature  in  the  1919  session  authorized  Chi- 
cago to  lay  out  zoning  districts,  and  when  Mayor  Thomp- 
son recently  appointed  the  city's  first  zoning  commission, 
practically  every  business  subject  to  restriction  under  the 
present  state  law  had  been  restricted  by  the  city  council. 

It  was  full  time  for  the  introduction  of  the  zoning  prin- 
ciple. The  necessary  enabling  act  had  been  got  after  a 
bill  in  the  previous  legislature  had  been  defeated  and 
after  various  civic  bodies  had  done  much  to  bring  about 
such  legislation. 

Illinois  Has  Superior  Zoning  Legislation 

Even  the  1919  zoning  law,  believed  when  passed  to  be 
adequate,  was  found  later  to  contain  certain  cumbersome 
provisions,  which  led  business  and  civic  organizations  to 
seek  the  passage  of  a  new  act  by  the  1921  legislature. 
This  effort  was  successful  and  Illinois  today  has  what 
zoning  experts  generally  admit  to  be  one  of  the  best 
zoning  enabling  acts  in  the  Union.  Empowered  by  the 
1919  act  the  city,  through  a  council  committee  and  rep- 
resentatives of  civic  bodies,  visited  ten  cities  in  the  United 
States  and  Canada  where  zoning  was  an  accomplished  fact 
or  under  progress.  Then  resulted  the  holding  in  Chicago, 
December  16  and  17,  1919,  of  a  citizens'  zone  plan  con- 
ference, and  Chicago  by  aid  of  visiting  authorities  and  its 
own  experts  effectively  concentrated  attention  upon  this 
urgent  problem. 

There  are  two  classes  of  zoning  ordinances,  one  being 
known  as  the  "piecemeal"  type  and  the  other  as  the 
"comprehensive"  type,  the  latter  now  in  operation  in  New 

185 


York  City  and  St.  Louis.  Los  Angeles  in  1909,  estab- 
lishing the  first  zoning  ordinance  in  this  country,  adopted 
the  "piecemeal"  type.  The  Chicago  ordinance  calls  for 
the  "comprehensive"  type.  The  New  York  ordinance, 
adopted  in  1916 — and  one  of  its  most  satisfactory  provi- 
sions is  the  creation  of  a  board  of  appeals — has  in  a  gen- 
eral way  received  city-wide  approval,  and  there  has  been 
surprisingly  little  attempt  to  change  it.  The  changes  in 
the  St.  Louis  ordinance  were  small  and  affecting  but  a 
slight  percentage  of  the  city's  area,  and  the  ordinance, 
which  was  adopted  at  the  time  when  no  building  was 
taking  place,  has  had  general  approval. 

What  Zoning  Means 

Zoning  has  two  phases,  one  dealing  with  general  de- 
velopment and  organization  and  the  other  with  the  devel- 
opment of  the  smaller  district  or  neighborhood  so  as  to 
promote  the  best  interest  of  that  neighborhood  for  resi- 
dential use,  or  for  industrial  use,  or  any  other  use  which 
it  is  most  fitted  to  serve.  A  building  is  well  located  and 
brings  the  best  results  when  with  its  kind,  and  so  it  is  the 
function  of  zoning  to  supplement  and  encourage  a  natural 
tendency  toward  segregation.  Zoning  involves  the  rela- 
tions of  business  and  industrial  centers,  residences,  apart- 
ment house,  and  the  single  family  home  owner,  and  zon- 
ing facilities  the  segregation  of  different  kinds  of  traffic. 
Zoning,  too,  deals  with  housing  congestion,  building 
heights,  building  lines,  billboards  and  erection  of  build- 
ings new  and  old. 

Zoning  in  Chicago  will  have  a  constant  relation  to  the 
comprehensive  scheme  of  city  building  known  as  the  Chi- 
cago Plan.  It  will  supplement  and  preserve  the  best 
characteristics  of  the  districts  the  Chicago  Plan  seeks  to 
open  up  or  extend. 

City  planning  attempts  to  create  a  city  which  functions 
to  best  advantage  for  all  of  the  interests  it  serves,  by 
means  of  the  arrangement  of  streets,  transportation  sys- 
tems, parks,  public  buildings  and  so  forth  in  an  orderly 
and  economical  manner.  Zoning  preserves  the  values 
city  planning  creates  by  regulating  the  use  of  private 
property  for  the  benefit  of  all. 

City  planning  and  zoning  experts  have  joined  in  pictur- 
ing the  benefits  Chicago  will  enjoy  by  orderly  develop- 

186 


ment  under  a  zoning  ordinance,  which  they  believe  should 
be  broadly  conceived  and  without  complicated  or  irritat- 
ing limitations.  All  zoning  ordinances  are  based  upon 
restrictions  to  the  use,  height  and  area  of  lot  occupied  by 
a  city's  buildings  and  in  this  respect  Chicago's  ordinance 
when  completed  will  be  similar  to  those  of  cities  already 
enjoying  the  benefits  of  zoning.  Differences  will  arise 
chiefly  in  working  out  these  restrictions  to  suit  the  special 
conditions  of  our  city. 

Chicago's  Zoning  Commission  Has  Momentous  Task 

Chicago  is  one  of  the  world's  metropolitan  cities,  com- 
bining in  one  community  and  on  a  grand  scale  the  prob- 
lems of  the  residential,  commercial  and  industrial  city. 
None  of  these  problems  will  be  simple  of  solution  and 
perhaps  the  most  difficult  will  be  the  industrial.  With  more 
railroad  systems  and  a  greater  belt  line  mileage  than 
any  other  city  in  the  world,  Chicago's  Zoning  Commis- 
sion faces  a  momentous  task  in  working  out  the  highest 
and  best  uses  of  the  property  fronting  these  lines.  Wise 
restrictions  in  our  present  building  code,  and  a  fairly 
well  laid  out  system  of  local  transportation,  have  some- 
what simplified  the  problem  of  determining  residential 
and  commercial  areas. 

In  developing  Chicago's  zoning  ordinance,  which,  with 
the  experience  of  other  cities  as  a  background,  should  be 
the  best  of  any  city  in  the  country,  every  citizen  is  con- 
fronted with  a  definite  responsibility.  We  must  learn 
what  zoning  means,  understand  thoroughly  that  it  will 
bring  individual  and  collective  benefits  to  all,  suppress 
all  selfish  or  personal  interests  for  the  common  good,  and 
be  prepared  at  all  times  to  co-operate  whole-heartedly 
with  the  authorities  in  this  difficult  task. 


187 


COMMERCE    AND    INDUSTRY 


Elements   of    Chicago's    Leadership    as    Economic    Center 

SUIJIAUJ    sooiAJog    pun    sdpijoj    ipun 
Thought — Commercial  Arbitration  Court — 
Advertising  and  Investing 


It  can  scarcely  be  said  of  the  commerce  and  industry 
of  Chicago  that  it  needs  certain  changes  and  improve- 
ments, as  one  might  say  of  the  needs  of  a  defective  busi- 
ness or  municipal  corporation.  The  advantageous  con- 
ditions which  have  drawn  manufacture  and  trading  to 
this  continental  center  are  comparatively  fixed  in  their 
operations,  and  whatever  can  be  done  to  perfect  these 
is  a  problem  of  broad  and  collective  action.  The  com- 
pelling genius,  the  onward,  victorious  spirit  is  here,  and 
there  remains  agreement  on  community-wide  issues  and 
the  ways  and  means  of  progressive  action  removed  from 
the  sphere  of  extravagant  and  superlative  speech.  Chi- 
cago in  fact  is  already  an  accomplishment  so  extraor- 
dinary that  its  story  and  message  can  be  adequately  de- 
livered without  excess  of  phraseology. 

Factors  of  Supremacy 

Here  we  are  today  with  all  the  powers,  however  un- 
regulated, of  invincible  youth,  superior  because  of  our 
geographical  location  with  proximity  to  the  national 
population  center;  because  here  is  the  meeting  place  of 
many  land  and  water  paths;  because  of  our  nearness  to 
an  abundance  of  national  wealth,  and  because  of  the 
vision  of  the  pioneers  who  foresaw  a  great  city  and  went 
through  flames  to  make  it.  Today,  if  Chicago  were 
consciously  to  plot  a  program  of  economic  develop- 
ment, would  there  not  be  emphasized  first  the  factors 
of  land  and  water  transportation,  the  multiplication  of 
industries,  the  conservation  and  development  of  public 
utilities,  the  internal  reconstruction  and  beautification 
of  a  planless  city,  and  the  balanced  expansion  of  that 
invaluable  fact  and  name,  the  Great  Central  Market? 

By  the  40  per  cent  of  the  railway  mileage  of  the 
United  States  concentrated  here  are  served  50,000,000 

188 


people.  The  wholesale  trade  of  this  continental  dis- 
tributing center  in  1920  was  estimated  at  $6,000,000,000 
and  here  is  conspicuously  the  world's  greatest  market 
for  livestock,  grain  and  lumber,  and  here  is  held  a  com- 
manding position  in  the  distribution  of  general  merchan- 
dise, foodstuffs,  seeds,  machinery,  jewelry,  pianos,  wear- 
ing apparel,  automobiles,  furniture  and  household  ar- 
ticles. As  producer  and  distributor  putting  forth 
from  its  manufacturing  zone  annually,  from  more 
than  20,000  factories,  goods  valued  at  $6,500,000,- 
000,  it  has  the  indispensable  co-operation  of  banks  with 
joint  resources  of  nearly  $3,500,000,000.  This  volume 
of  products  of  the  metropolitan  industrial  district,  Chi- 
cago, has  grown  from  that  of  the  city  of  1870,  one 
year  before  the  destructive  and  re-creative  episode  of 
the  great  fire,  when  the  estimated  output  was  worth  $92,- 
518,742.  Here  center  the  raw  products  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley — iron,  copper,  lead,  zinc,  petroleum,  lumber, 
wool,  hides,  grain — and  here  the  constructive  thought 
of  the  entire  country  finds  expression  in  the  meeting 
of  700  conventions  a  year  in  the  convention  city  of 
America.  From  this  distribution  center  move  daily 
2,500  through  package  cars  to  1,800  points  with  one 
transfer  of  service  to  more  than  60,000  others.  Here 
is  developed  manufacturing  power  unlimited — coal  gas 
and  electricity — and  here  a  score  of  nationalities  offer 
the  labor  of  hand  and  brain. 

Chicago's  Future  in  Its  Tributary  Territory 

Conditions  of  Chicago's  growth  heretofore  promise 
indefinite  expansion.  This  can  be  affected  favorably  or 
otherwise  by  its  larger  economic  policies,  and  transporta- 
tion is  of  course  qualifying  all.  At  this  railroad  center  is 
laid  in  the  case  of  many  great  lines  the  first  or  last  rail 
of  their  system.  Without  these  gigantic  instruments  of 
progress  an  empire  of  the  West  would  not  have  been  and 
Chicago  would  have  continued  a  portage. 

Chicago's  future  depends  upon  the  greater  develop- 
ment of  its  tributary  territory.  Leaders  of  Chicago 
commerce  have  long  held  the  supreme  idea  of  the  open 
door — frequent  exchange  of  products — believing  that 
the  greatest  extension  of  its  own  trade  is  found  in  serv- 
ing the  best  interests  of  all  other  communities.  Within 

189 


a  Chinese  wall  may  be  stagnation.  Any  policy  that  re- 
stricts the  freest  distribution  of  products  must  prove 
harmful  both  to  the  railways  and  the  commerce  of  the 
country — the  commerce  of  Chicago.  "Carrying  coals  to 
Newcastle"  is  exceedingly  profitable  to  the  carriers,  as 
it  is  to  the  country's  buyers  and  consumers.  The  com- 
merce and  industry  of  Chicago  as  well  as  of  the  country 
at  large  have  been  built  up  in  recognition  of  this  prin- 
ciple. Transportation  charges  for  years  have  been  so 
adjusted  as  to  permit  of  the  most  extensive  distribution 
whereby  all  have  been  benefited  to  a  greater  or  less  ex- 
tent. Now,  however,  come  evidences  pointing  to  serious 
restriction  of  distribution,  the  outcome  being  far-reach- 
ing and  possibly  fraught  with  results  unfavorable  to  all 
communities. 

Problem   of    Railroad    Consolidation 

The  federal  transportation  act  of  1920  instructs  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission  to  propose  a  plan  to 
be  submitted  to  congress  for  the  consolidation  of  all  the 
railroads  of  the  country  into  a  limited  number  of  sys- 
tems. It  is  now  thought  that  the  report  of  the  com- 
mission finally  submitted  may  propose  about  twenty 
systems  for  the  entire  country.  Such  a  proposal  is,  of 
course,  not  only  unique  but  may  be  looked  upon  as 
somewhat  revolutionary.  Nevertheless,  Chicago  and  the 
country  must  face  it,  having  in  mind  two  vital  phases 
of  the  question — first,  will  such  a  reconstruction  scheme 
tend  to  bring  greater  efficiency  in  operation  so  that  trans- 
portation charges  may  be  materially  reduced  and  at  the 
same  time  adequate  revenues  produced  for  the  carriers; 
and  second,  will  such  a  plan  tend  to  encourage  the 
broadcast  distribution  of  the  commerce  of  the  country 
and  will  a  few  large  systems  be  as  considerate  of  the 
welfare  of  the  individual  shipper  as  are  the  present 
many  smaller  systems?  These  points  are  of  equal  im- 
portance. The  welfare  of  the  carrier  means  or  should 
mean  better  and  more  service,  and  the  widest  distribu- 
tion of  commerce  at  a  cost  comparable  with  fair  return 
to  the  carrier  is  in  the  interest  of  both  carrier  and  ship- 
per. This  book  expresses  no  convictions  on  this  mat- 
ter, its  purpose  being  to  invite  attention  to  this  new  and 
highly  important  phase  of  the  transportation  question, 

190 


one  of  vital  concern  to  Chicago  and  all  sections  of  the 
country.  It  is  to  be  expected  that  the  business  interests 
of  Chicago  will  approach  judgment  on  this  great  issue 
from  a  broad  point  of  view — what  is  best  for  the  com- 
merce and  industry  of  the  country  as  a  whole  must  ulti- 
mately benefit  the  carriers. 

Things  Practical  to  Do 

The  normal  growth  of  this  great  market  and  work- 
shop finds  constant  stimulus  in  the  rivalry  of  other  ad- 
vancing centers  of  population,  trade  and  industry,  not 
to  speak  of  the  operation  of  forces  expressed  in  prob- 
lems resulting  from  the  great  war.  To  meet  such  new 
situations  there  must  be  policies  and  facilities  and  the 
future  invites  concentration  upon  certain  practical 
projects.  The  business  success  of  the  Pageant  of  Prog- 
ress in  1920,  considered  with  the  distant  background  of 
the  trade  and  sample  fairs  which  are  increasing  in  Great 
Britain  and  Europe,  counsels  Chicago  to  make  an  or- 
ganized effort  to  create  periodic  international  great  fairs. 
Place  and  time  are  opportune  and  this  city's  interest  in 
the  extension  of  its  world  trade  urges  serious  study  to 
develop  such  an  enterprise. 

Another  new  institution  which  students  of  Chicago's 
foreign  trade  problem  advocate,  and  which  is  as  yet  un- 
known to  this  great  market,  is  a  commercial  museum 
containing  a  permanent  exhibit  of  goods  in  demand  by 
foreign  countries  and  which  can  be  supplied  by  Chi- 
cago. Chicago  requires  the  benefits  of  world  trade  pro- 
motion, of  market  advertising,  of  foreign  trade  organi- 
zation. Not  enough  foreign  business  men  are  familiar 
with  the  Great  Central  Market  in  its  true  extent  as  a 
source  of  supply  of  goods  required  throughout  the 
world. 

Chicago's  Vast  Foreign  Trade   Uncredited 

The  statistical  methods  of  the  United  States  govern- 
ment permit  the  disclosure  of  but  a  meager  portion  of 
the  export  trade  of  Chicago,  because  exported  goods  are 
credited  not  to  the  place  of  origin  but  to  the  port  of 
exit.  Inquiries  by  The  Chicago  Association  of  Com- 
merce lead  to  the  conclusion  that  this  city's  foreign  trade 
in  1920  may  have  been  as  great  as  $1,750,000,000  or 

191 


Tower  of  business  strength  to  be  raised  as  keystone,  of  LaSalle 
Street  stronghold. 

See  opposite  page. 

192 


$2,000,000,000,  and  indeed  possibly  as  great  as  $3,000,- 
000,000.  In  that  year  the  enormous  foreign  trade  of 
the  United  States  amounted  to  $13,358,963,000,  of  which 
perhaps  the  very  considerable  portion  of  20  per  cent  is 
to  be  credited  to  the  Chicago  district.  One  Chicago  in- 
dustry alone  in  1920,  that  is  the  packing  industry,  ex- 
ported not  less  than  $1,160,000,000  worth  of  products 
and  the  amount  of  Chicago's  grain  exports  in  the  same 
year  was  285,000,000  bushels. 

Chicago  as  a  Free  Port 

A  new  facility  which  may  in  time  distinguish  the  Great 
Central  Market  as  a  point  of  export  is  a  free  port  such 
as  is  now  being  discussed  for  the  great  port  of  New 
York  and  as  is  now  in  operation  in  such  foreign  cities 
as  Hamburg  and  Danzig.  It  is  reasonably  contended 
that  such  an  institution  would  greatly  stimulate  Chi- 
cago's foreign  trade  and  would  be  easy  of  establishment 
by  virtue  of  the  practical  creation  of  Chicago  as  a  sea- 
port by  the  development  of  the  Great  Lakes-St.  Lawrence 
waterway  project.  When  Chicago  becomes  connected 
with  the  Atlantic  and  the  Gulf  by  deep  sea  ship  services 
additional  steamship  companies  will  establish  offices  here 
and  it  will  be  possible  to  book  freight  over  any  route 
and  to  any  pert  of  the  world  right  here  in  Chicago,  and 
that  day  consular  and  commercial  representatives  from 
every  nation  in  the  world  will  be  active  promoters  of 
trade  on  this  spot.  Meanwhile,  Chicago  should  be  sys- 
tematically active  in  sending  its  own  trade  emissaries 
abroad  from  this  city;  and  Chicago  should  also  sys- 
tematically prepare  to  inform  its  local  merchants,  man- 
ufacturers and  exporters  of  the  visit  of  foreign  buyers 
to  this  country,  so  that  their  coming  to  Chicago  shall  not 
be  casual  and  accidental  but  in  fulfillment  of  a  calcu- 
lated American  business  program. 

The  establishment  of  a  foreign  trade  bank  under  the 
Edge  act,  supplementing  the  services  of  local  institu- 

On  the  opposite  page  appears  the  massive  structure  to  be  erected  by  the  Board 
of  Trade,  with  possible  modifications  and  when  business  conditions  favor,  at  the 
southern  end  of  Chicago's  financial  fortress,  LaSalle  Street.  On  diagonal  corners 
will  be  respectively  the  Federal  Reserve  Bank,  approaching  completion,  and  the 
bank  supplanting  that  of  the  Illinois  Trust  and  Savings,  resulting  from  consoli- 
dation of  the  Illinois  Trust,  the  Merchants'  Loan  and  Trust  and  Corn  Exchange. 

By  permission  of  B.  A.  Eckhart,  chairman  of  building  committee,  and  Holabird 
&  Roche,  architects.  Mr.  Eckhart's  associates  are  George  M.  Reynolds,  James  A. 
Patten,  John  H.  Jones  and  Joseph  Simons. 

193 


tions,  might  make  more  effectual  the  purposes  of  this 
city  in  foreign  trade  development. 

Two  agencies  of  progress  springing  out  of  the  re- 
quirements of  business,  and  calculated  to  be  of  much 
service  in  the  future  as  they  have  already  proven  to  be 
in  the  short  period  of  their  existence,  the  Commer- 
cial Arbitration  Court  and  the  Advertisers'  and  Investors' 
Protective  Bureau,  both  services  having  been  started  for 
the  general  welfare  by  The  Chicago  Association  of  Com- 
merce, the  former  designed  to  adjudicate  business  dis- 
putes without  resort  to  the  public  courts,  and  the  latter 
operating  already  with  striking  effect  in  the  regulation 
of  misrepresentative  advertising  and  the  control  of  the 
flotation  of  unprofitable  and  fraudulent  investment  se- 
curities. 

Commercial  Arbitration  Court 

The  Commercial  Arbitration  Court  has  been  acclaimed 
both  at  home  and  abroad  as  one  of  the  most  unusual 
business  undertakings  ever  assumed  by  a  group  of  pri- 
vate individuals.  The  movement  began  in  1917  in  an 
effort  to  promote  the  adjudication  of  commercial  cases 
by  voluntary  tribunals  very  much  as  is  done  in  England. 
Appropriate  new  legislation  has  been  secured  from  the 
state  of  Illinois  and  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois  has 
this  year  sustained  the  constitutionality  of  the  act  and 
passed  on  certain  matters  of  procedure  thereunder.  The 
Commercial  Arbitration  Bureau  was  established  May  4, 
1921.  The  manager  has  already  arbitrated  a  number 
of  important  causes,  and  a  corps  of  165  arbitrators  has 
been  formed,  three  trade  experts  from  each  of  the  fifty- 
five  subdivisions  of  The  Chicago  Association  of  Com- 
merce, giving  to  litigants  a  wide  range  of  selection  of 
arbitrators.  But  the  most  important  work  yet  done  has 
been  drawing  the  attention  of  business  concerns  to  the 
benefits  of  this  form  of  adjudication.  It  is  not  possible 
to  estimate  the  total  number  of  causes  that  are  being  kept 
from  the  public  courts  as  a  direct  result  of  the  bureau's 
operations,  but  it  is  known  that  as  a  result  of  this  move- 
ment many  disputants  have  selected  their  own  arbi- 
trators and  hearings  have  been  heard  in  private.  Re- 
sults so  far  obtained  have  exceeded  the  greatest  expec- 
tations of  those  who  have  been  responsible  for  the 

194 


establishment  of  this  new  facility  for  the  promotion  of 
justice  with  peace. 

Advertisers   and  Investors'   Protective   Bureau 

Also  unusual,  effective,  too,  but  little  heard  of,  is  the 
Advertisers  and  Investors'  Protective  Bureau,  the  func- 
tions of  which  relate  to  and  control  in  way  of  cen- 
sorship financial  exploitation  and  commercial  publicity, 
to  the  end  that  the  offering  and  sale  of  fraudulent  and 
hazardously  speculative  securities  are  prevented  and 
misrepresentation  in  merchandise  advertising  is  elimi- 
nated. The  manager  of  the  bureau,  a  special  investi- 
gator for  the  secretary  of  state  in  administering  the  Illi- 
nois blue  sky  law,  has  in  the  past  two  years  reviewed 
for  the  Illinois  secretary  of  state  proposed  flotations  of 
securities  amounting  to  $660,000,000,  approximately 
40  per  cent  of  which  was  declined  approval  for  sale  in 
this  state.  The  bureau  has  also  the  unreserved  co-opera- 
tion of  the  Chicago  newspapers  in  excluding  undesirable 
advertising  of  every  character.  The  triple  powers  of 
state,  press  and  The  Chicago  Association  of  Commerce, 
with  actual  membership  of  nearly  7,000  and  an  asso- 
ciated and  influenced  membership  of  not  less  than  50,- 
000,  enable  this  bureau  to  function  successfully  with- 
out threat,  coercion  or  prosecution  to  a  degree  which 
has  won  great  and  wide  commendation. 

A  new  and  important  service  to  the  Great  Central 
Market  is  found  in  the  organization  this  year  by  The 
Chicago  Association  of  Commerce  of  the  Interstate  Mer- 
chants' Council,  of  which  the  first  general  convention 
will  be  held  early  in  1922.  Twenty-six  states  are  now 
represented  in  the  growing  membership.  It  is  planned 
to  hold  conventions  in  Chicago  twice  each  year.  The 
purchasing  power  of  the  merchants  concerned  is  great. 


195 


CHICAGO  IN  BANKING 


This   City's  Financial   Strength  Cares  for  Its  Commerce 

and  Industry  and  Assures  Adequate  Growth  to  Meet 

National  and  World  Requirements 


In  banking  resources  and  financial  strength  Chicago 
has  grown  even  faster  than  in  industries  and  commerce, 
and  never  in  her  history  has  the  ability  to  finance  all 
of  her  commercial  activities  with  a  surplus  of  funds  for 
permanent  investment  been  more  evident. 

New  wealth  from  the  soil,  the  forest  and  the  mine  is 
the  wellspring  of  Chicago's  happy  condition.  Chicago 
may  never  hope  to  displace  New  York  as  the  country's 
money  center,  but  the  time  is  rapidly  approaching  when 
it  may,  at  least,  share  the  honors  with  New  York  more 
evenly  than  today. 

Recently  an  officer  of  an  old  Chicago  bank  visited 
New  York  to  discuss  the  feasibility  of  opening  in  that 
city  a  working  agency  or  branch  of  his  bank,  not  to 
receive  deposits  but  to  perform  such  other  functions 
and  establish  such  other  relationships  as  a  Chicago  in- 
stitution might  have  need  to  establish  in  New  York.  He 
found  in  banking  circles  that  while  his  personal  pres- 
ence there,  as  a  representative  of  his  bank,  would  be 
entirely  acceptable,  the  establishment  of  an  actual  phys- 
ical agency  would  not  be  so  welcome,  and  furthermore 
he  learned  that  under  a  recent  interpretation  of  the 
banking  laws  of  the  state  of  New  York,  by  both  super- 
intendent of  banking  and  attorney  general,  a  license 
to  locate  such  an  agency  could  not  be  secured,  although 
it  was  less  certain  that  this  same  barrier  would  be  raised 
against  a  branch  or  agency  of  a  bank  incorporated  under 
the  laws  of  a  foreign  country. 

Reciprocity? 

Considering  the  cordiality  with  which  eastern  banks 
have  been  permitted  to  enter  Illinois  for  the  operation 
of  those  logical  banking  functions  consistent  with  our 
own  banking  laws,  it  may  be  suggested  that  the  time 

196 


has  arrived  for  Chicago  to  recognize  her  own  financial 
power  and  to  insist  as  between  hers  and  the  eastern 
money  center  a  like  exchange  of  privileges  and  a  like 
consideration  in  the  field  of  investment  as  well  as  com- 
mercial banking. 

The  right  of  the  older  city  to  retain  all  of  the  advan- 
tages and  give  none  may  well  be  challenged.  Chicago's 
power  to  distribute  investments  and  to  parallel  every 
power  now  possessed  by  New  York  may  seem  remote, 
but  the  rapid  growth  of  wealth  in  the  Central  West  will, 
sooner  than  we  think,  bring  the  time  when  the  "I  Will" 
spirit  of  Chicago  will  demand  equal  rights  with  respect 
to  all  forms  of  financial  operation. 

As  the  financial  center  of  the  West,  with  banking  re- 
sources high  and  expanding,  and  with  a  tendency  if  not 
a  confirmed  practice  among  the  business  men  of  sur- 
rounding states  to  float  their  securities  in  their  geo- 
graphic market,  Chicago  banks  are  fully  meeting  realized 
requirements  and  lending  proportionate  aid  to  the  coun- 
try's development  and  a  war-torn  world's  rehabilitation. 
Rivalry  with  the  larger  money  center,  strong  in  years 
and  capital  accumulation,  endowed  with  the  peculiar  ad- 
vantages of  the  greatest  place  of  export  and  import, 
need  not  excite  in  young  Chicago  passionate  emotions, 
and  yet  at  the  same  time  financial  conditions  unfavor- 
able to  Chicago's  growth  and  supremacy  and  not  due 
to  incompetence  of  her  own  should  be  regarded  as  sub- 
ject to  favorable  change  through  the  great  and  increasing 
powers  of  this  city. 

New  York  and  Chicago  as  Financial  Centers 

A  Chicago  student  of  the  characteristics  of  New  York 
and  Chicago  as  financial  centers  makes  these  interest- 
ing observations: 

"Chicago's  financial  judgment  is  not  influenced  by 
adventitious  circumstances.  This  is  characteristic  of  all 
centers  of  production.  The  humor,  business  tempera- 
ment, judgment,  initiative  and  resourcefulness  of  the 
New  York  financiers  veers  or  functions  with  the  rise  and 
fall  of  prices  on  the  stock  exchange.  Prices  of  securi- 
ties are  not  an  assured  criterion  of  values.  Chicago's 
financial  judgment  is  based  on  fundamentals.  It  is  the 
center  of  realities  born  of  pioneering,  imagination  and 

197 


t:*-^rC^/-^ 


Federal  Reserve   Bank  of  Chicago,  now  under  construction. 

Permission    of    Bank,    and    Graham,    Anderson,    Probst    &    White. 


198 


courage.     It  is   creative  and  productive  in  motive   and 
fact. 

"In  New  York  the  fluctuations  of  the  stock  market  are 
dominating  in  influence.  In  Chicago  they  are  incidental 
if  considered  at  all.  Great  commercial  centers  and  mar- 
kets are  not,  and  never  have  been,  commanding  in  their 
financial  importance.  Chicago,  however,  has  proven  in 
such  a  number  of  ways  that  it  is  a  creator  and  breaker 
of  precedents  that  it  is  safe  to  assert  its  coming  suprem- 
acy in  finance  while  maintaining  its  dominant  position 
as  the  greatest  producing  and  distributing  market  in  the 
United  States." 

Chicago  Credits  Based  on  Actual  Business 

A  Chicago  banker  of  general  authority,  discussing  the 
strength  and  prospects  of  the  local  money  system,  says: 
"Banks  like  ours,  whose  credits  are  based  on  actual 
business  of  corporations,  are  in  a  much  stronger  posi- 
tion than  those  whose  transactions  are  based  largely  on 
the  stocks  of  corporations."  A  vital  distinction  is  here 
involved  affecting  the  prestige  and  growth  of  Chicago 
as  a  money  center,  and  its  future  is  also  closely  con- 
nected with  this  established  feature  of  Chicago  banking. 
Says  the  same  authority:  "The  thing  we  are  most  proud 
of  in  our  local  banking  situation  is  our  system  of  clear- 
ing house  examination,  which  was  organized  immedi- 
ately after  the  Walsh  failure  in  1905.  This  system  of 
clearing  house  supervision  has  grown  into  the  most  com- 
plete and  effective  supervision  enjoyed  by  any  city  in 
the  world,  and  there  has  not  been  a  single  failure  of 
any  bank  under  this  supervision  in  fifteen  years.  Of 
course  there  is  no  pretense  of  guaranteeing  deposits  or 
doing  anything  more  than  giving  intelligent  and  careful 
supervision,  but  the  results  are  very  impressive.  Speak- 
ing of  our  promotion  of  foreign  trade,  the  banks  of 
Chicago  have  been  very  slow  to  encourage  trade  in  South 
American  countries,  and  the  experience  of  seaboard 
banks  has  fully  demonstrated  the  wisdom  of  the  Chi- 
cago banks." 

Banking  Facilities 

On  June  1  of  the  present  year  the  twenty-four  national 
and  nearly  120  state  banks  of  Chicago  reported  aggre- 

199 


gate  banking  facilities  as  follows:  Capital  employed, 
$265,446,592;  deposits,  $1,741,444,311;  loans  and  dis- 
counts, $1,493,178,193;  cash  resources,  $481,885,562. 
Corresponding  items  accounted  for  June  1,  1920,  were 
as  follows:  Capital  employed,  $239,361,570;  deposits, 
$1,805,228,994;  loans  and  discounts,  $1,548,299,008; 
cash  resources,  $474,529,476.  One  of  the  significant 
changes  of  the  last  few  years  has  been  the  growth  and 
distribution  of  savings  deposits  throughout  the  city,  de- 
posits this  year  reaching  a  total  of  $497,315,100,  of 
which  51.1  per  cent,  or  $254,223,334,  was  in  the  banks 
of  the  central  business  district.  The  growth  of  savings 
deposits,  while  steady  all  over  the  city,  has  been  largest 
in  the  outlying  banks,  and  these  accumulating  resources 
of  the  smaller  banks  have  served  as  a  reservoir  for  cash 
of  great  value  to  the  business  community  in  periods  when 
the  commercial  banks  had  loaned  to  their  capacity.  The 
bulk  of  accounts  in  the  large  downtown  banks  is  in  com- 
mercial deposits. 

Financial  Team  Work 

More  and  more  Chicago  is  purchasing  and  distributing 
the  securities  of  this  richly  productive  central  region, 
although  the  resources  of  the  eastern  money  center  will 
for  an  indefinite  time  be  employed  in  national  develop- 
ment. Chicago  is  becoming  able  to  care  and  should 
care  for  the  investment  business  of  that  vast  industrial 
and  manufacturing  area,  the  Mississippi  Valley.  A  Chi- 
cago producer  of  world  renown  says:  "Always  a  group 
of  financial  men  can  be  formed  to  swing  any  deal  that 
is  too  large  for  a  single  institution,  and  always  our  men 
work  well  with  bond  houses  or  other  financial  agencies. 
Every  sign  points  to  the  further  development  of  Chi- 
cago as  a  financial  center  and  its  ultimate  supremacy  in 
the  field." 

Charges  are  not  any  greater  in  consequence  of  syn- 
dicates organized  by  eastern  bankers  in  which  Chicago 
and  other  western  investment  bankers  participate. 

There  is  only  a  commission  charged  by  the  originat- 
ing banker,  who  also  participates  in  the  syndicate  on  the 
same  basis  as  other  members.  There  is  also  the  advan- 
tage of  a  wider  distribution  of  the  securities,  which 
broadens  the  market  and  stabilizes  it.  Let  it  be  said 

200 


that  Chicago,  increasing  as  it  is  in  its  numbers  of  issuers 
of  securities  in  large  amounts,  will  soon  become  an  in- 
itiatory banking  center,  offering  participations  to  invest- 
ment bankers  of  New  York  and  other  eastern  cities. 

Today,  but  a  hundred  years  removed  from  the  village 
and  the  wilderness,  Chicago  can  handle  its  own  great 
projects — and  a  $60,000,000  flotation  has  been  accom- 
plished here — and  offer  financial  facilities  throughout 
the  country.  Banking  authorities  emphasize  the  fact  that 
in  the  last  four  or  five  years  Chicago  has  enjoyed  a  sig- 
nificant growth  with  reference  to  the  sale  of  investment 
securities,  and  it  is  felt  that  today  this  city  is  doing  a 
reasonable  percentage  of  the  volume  of  business  which 
Chicago  could  expect  to  do  in  this  class  of  banking. 
Great,  however,  as  are  the  possibilities  here,  greater  will 
be  this  business  in  the  no  distant  future.  This  will  be 
true  in  part  because  of  the  spirit  of  co-operation  between 
banks  and  investment  houses.  Here  is  the  heart  of 
America;  here  is  the  center  of  production  and  manu- 
facture, and  here  the  corresponding  growth  of  banking 
wealth  and  its  instrumentalities.  The  East  may  still 
say  that  there  is  a  "West,"  but  this  imperial  area  no 
longer  recognizes  boundaries  as  fixed  and  immutable. 

Chicago  and  the  Liberty  Loans 

As  to  Chicago  bank  stocks,  these  have  won  an  estab- 
lished place  among  investors,  and  as  for  Chicago  as  a 
banking  training  school  not  alone  are  the  distinction  and 
authority  of  its  banking  veterans  striking  evidence,  but 
other  evidence  exists  in  the  contributions  which  this  city 
has  made  to  the  banking  personnel  of  New  York. 

Up  to  the  close  of  1919  the  United  States  had  issued 
five  Liberty  loans  with  subscriptions  which  greatly  ex- 
ceeded allotments  and  aggregated  $24,016,141,750.  The 
total  war  disbursements  were  $32,427,469,054.72.  Chi- 
cago's share  in  these  five  loans  with  percentage  of  sub- 
scriptions was  as  follows: 

Chicago's 
Total  Chicago      Percentage 

First  $3,035,226,850  $357,195,950        11.7 

Second    4,617,532,300  585,853,350        12.6 

Third  4,158,599,100  608,878,600        14.8 

Fourth 6,954,875,200  969,209,000        13.9 

Victory  5,249,908,300  772,046,550        14.7 

201 


The  resources  of  Chicago  banks  have  kept  pace  with 
the  general  growth  of  the  city.  In  1861,  when  the  Chi- 
cago Clearing  House  Association  was  first  organized,  the 
total  deposits  of  its  members  amounted  to  $17,000,000. 
In  1871  these  had  risen  to  $31,000,000,  and  by  1896 
to  $138,000,000,  while  now  they  exceed  $1,600,000,000. 
In  the  meantime  the  capital  and  surplus  of  all  the  Chi- 
cago banks  has  increased  from  $14,500,000  in  1871  to 
over  $234,000.000. 

Foreign  Trade 

Foreign  trade  has  not  been,  perhaps,  as  important  a 
factor  in  Chicago  as  in  the  case  of  some  of  the  cities 
on  the  seaboard  whose  entire  business  prosperity  depends 
on  the  export  and  import  trade  of  the  country.  Never- 
theless, although  an  interior  city,  Chicago  has  not  failed 
to  play  its  part  in  our  trade  with  countries  outside  of 
the  United  States.  Especially  in  the  handling  of  bills 
of  exchange  based  upon  exports  of  raw  materials,  Chi- 
cago banks  have  been  of  primary  importance.  And  in 
this  connection  they  have  not  failed  to  make  use  in  an 
ever-increasing  degree  of  acceptances,  an  instrument  of 
credit  relatively  new  in  this  country.  The  acceptance 
market,  which  plays  such  an  important  part  in  the  financ- 
ing of  the  foreign  trade  of  European  countries,  is  con- 
tinually growing  in  favor,  and  Chicago  banks  have  been 
doing  their  best  to  develop  a  broad  acceptance  market 
in  this  region.  As  more  direct  communications  by  water 
are  developed  by  means  of  the  Great  Lakes-St.  Law- 
rence canal  and  other  bodies  of  water,  the  part  which 
Chicago  plays  in  the  country's  foreign  trade  will  become 
more  and  more  important  as  time  goes  on  and  may  rival 
even  the  trade  of  those  cities  on  the  sea  coast  which  now 
regard  this  part  of  our  commerce  as  their  sole  province. 

Confidence  in  the  banks  of  the  state  has  in  late  years 
been  vastly  improved  and  stabilized  through  the  elim- 
ination of  private  banks,  at  one  time  a  very  serious  men- 
ace, by  legislative  enactments  requiring  all  banks  to  take 
out  national  or  state  charters  and  become  subject  to  na- 
tional or  state  regulation  and  examination. 

As  has  recently  been  said  by  the  president  of  the 
Chicago  Stock  Exchange,  no  broad,  open  market  for 
securities  exists  without  the  speculator,  and  speculation 

202 


should  not  be  confused  with  gambling,  because  it  is  not 
only  a  legitimate  but  a  necessary  part  of  the  business 
system  of  the  country  and  has  been  so  recognized  by  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  The  standing  of 
the  Chicago  Stock  Exchange  is  high  and  authoritative 
and  performs  an  essential  function  at  the  great  central 
financial  and  commercial  capital.  It  aims  to  maintain 
and  does  maintain  a  high  standard  of  business  morality; 
it  observes  approved  standards  of  legitimacy  in  securi- 
ties; it  aids  in  directing  into  the  channels  of  trade  and 
industry  the  much  needed  capital  of  the  public;  the 
quoted  prices  of  its  market  can  be  accepted  as  a  measure 
of  value  and  an  index  to  general  business  conditions; 
it  keeps  in  liquid  form  and  ready  for  use  where  most 
needed  the  surplus  wealth  of  the  community.  Second 
only  in  importance  in  the  United  States  to  the  New  York 
Stock  Exchange  is  the  Chicago  Stock  Exchange. 


203 


CHICAGO  AS  COTTON  MARKET 


Certain  Reasons  Why  Chicago  Is   Entitled  to  Aspire  to 
Develop  a  New  and  Great  Business 


Some  ten  years  ago  The  Chicago  Association  of  Com- 
merce sent  a  member  of  its  staff  to  ask  the  most  repre- 
sentative man — officially  the  governor — in  seven  of  the 
cotton-producing  states  how  the  South  would  look  upon 
an  effort  of  Chicago  to  hold  a  cotton  exposition.  Seven 
governors  were  interviewed  and  conclusions  reported  to 
a  special  committee  of  the  association.  While  such  an 
enterprise  was  not  undertaken,  the  findings  of  the  rep- 
resentative were  not  prohibitively  discouraging.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  inquiry  had  been  conducted  at  the 
suggestion  of  a  great  southern  cotton  city.  Time  has 
passed.  Let  us  now,  considering  a  Chicago  cotton  ex- 
position as  but  an  industrial  incident,  discuss  Chicago 
as  a  permanent  cotton  market. 

Chicago  has  the  opportunity  of  becoming  in  the  near 
future  the  leading  cotton  market  of  this  country.  Many 
favorable  conditions  point  to  this  development  within  a 
period  of  ten  years.  At  the  outside  some  believe  that 
Chicago  will  become  the  leading  cotton  market  before 
twenty  years  have  passed. 

America's  cotton  crop  has  been  estimated  as  worth 
about  $2,200,000,000  annually.  This  country  produces 
between  60  per  cent  and  70  per  cent  of  the  world's  sup- 
ply of  this  staple.  It  is  estimated  that  the  cotton  business 
of  the  world  represents  an  investment  of  about  $30,000,- 
000,000.  Thirty  per  cent  of  the  cotton  produced  in  this 
country  is  consumed  in  the  South,  the  remainder  is 
shipped  to  New  England  mills  or  exported  to  Europe. 

Relation  of  Chicago  to  Producing  Area 

While  cotton  is  marketed  during  about  three  months 
of  the  year,  distribution  of  the  country's  crop  is  a  twelve 
months'  operation.  The  sale  of  cotton  is  conducted  in 
exactly  the  same  way  as  the  sale  of  grain,  in  which 
"hedging,"  or  the  purchase  and  sale  of  "futures,"  is 

204 


conducted  as  a  form  of  insurance,  protecting  both  the 
seller  and  purchaser  of  the  commodity. 

At  the  present  time  the  country  has  two  principal  cot- 
ton markets,  New  Orleans  and  New  York  City.  The  New 
Orleans  cotton  market  possesses  a  well  developed  ma- 
chine for  the  purchase  and  sale  of  the  commodity,  finan- 
cial accommodations  are  adequate,  and  excellent  ware- 
house facilities  are  provided.  From  the  standpoint  of 
warehousing  a  sufficient  reserve  supply  of  cotton  to  liqui- 
date contracts,  the  New  York  cotton  market  has  latterly 
been  decreasing  in  importance,  although  there  has  been 
little  diminution  in  the  amount  of  trading  on  the  ex- 
change. 

In  the  cotton-producing  territory  lying  nearer  to  New 
York  than  Chicago,  the  development  in  recent  years  of 
cotton  mills  has  brought  about  a  condition  where  almost 
the  entire  crop  is  consumed  locally.  The  greater  part 
of  the  cotton  crop,  about  72  per  cent,  is  now  produced  in 
territory  nearer  to  Chicago  than  New  York  City. 

The  completion  of  the  Welland  Canal  and  other  parts 
of  the  Great  Lakes-St.  Lawrence  waterway  is  certain  to 
make  Chicago  a  great  cotton  market,  for  it  will  then  be 
possible  to  ship  cotton  to  New  England  for  local  con- 
sumption or  export  it  direct  to  Europe  more  econom- 
ically than  by  way  of  New  York. 

Superior  Advantages  of  Great  Central  Market 

There  is  even  the  possibility  that  a  cotton  market  may 
be  developed  in  Chicago  before  the  Great  Lakes-St.  Law- 
rence waterway  project  has  been  realized.  Should  the 
Illinois  waterway  be  completed  and  in  operation  be- 
fore the  Great  Lakes-St.  Lawrence  waterway,  as  seems 
probable,  the  lower  water  rate  between  the  southern 
cotton  fields  and  Chicago  might  make  it  possible  to  de- 
velop at  that  time  a  Chicago  cotton  market.  Even  to- 
day the  cost  of  shipping  by  rail  is  but  little  more  than 
by  water,  and  there  is  little  prospect  of  immediate  re- 
ductions in  water  rates. 

As  a  cotton  market,  both  for  American  consumption 
and  for  export,  Chicago  possesses  outstanding  advan- 
tages over  New  York  City  as  well  as  New  Orleans.  New 
Orleans  has  an  excellent  cotton  market  for  the  territory 
immediately  tributary.  It  is  not  a  logical  market  for 

205 


cotton  held  at  points  outside  New  Orleans  and  destined 
for  shipment  to  New  England  or  Europe. 

Less  than  .5  of  1  per  cent  of  the  cotton  bought  and 
sold  on  the  New  York  Cotton  Exchange  is  actually  held 
in  New  York  warehouses.  Small  cotton  reserves  tend 
to  create  a  speculative  market.  As  already  indicated, 
this  situation  is  due  to  the  fact  that  southern  cotton  mills 
now  consume  nearly  all  the  cotton  produced  in  the 
southern  states  of  Virginia,  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas 
which  are  closest  to  New  York. 

Geographical  Considerations 

Ninety-three  of  145  important  cotton  shipping  points 
in  the  South  are  nearer  to  Liverpool  via  Chicago  than 
by  way  of  New  York  City.  Of  fifty-two  remaining 
points,  all  are  located  in  the  Carolinas,  Georgia  and  Ala- 
bama, where  the  amount  of  cotton  available  for  export 
is  small  by  reason  of  large  local  consumption. 

From  the  standpoint  of  New  England  consumption  the 
distances  from  southern  shipping  points,  except  those  in 
the  Carolinas,  Georgia  and  Alabama,  are  greater  only 
by  an  average  of  99  miles  than  by  the  present  direct 
route.  Thus  the  expense  of  shipping  cotton  to  New 
England  mills  from  a  market  in  Chicago  does  not  in- 
volve an  appreciable  increased  transportation  cost. 

Summarizing,  Chicago  is  nearer  than  New  York  to  the 
territory  now  producing  most  of  the  cotton  available  for 
shipment  to  New  England  and  Europe.  The  distances 
from  this  territory  to  New  England  and  Europe  are 
shorter  via  Chicago  than  any  other  route  and  it  is  there- 
fore practicable  to  establish  a  Chicago  cotton  market. 
The  Chicago  Board  of  Trade,  now  handling  the  na- 
tion's grain  crop,  possesses  all  the  machinery  needed 
to  market  the  cotton  crop  for  the  South.  Warehouses 
required  to  hold  cotton  reserves  could  be  built  in  Chi- 
cago with  rail  and  water  connections,  operated  at  a 
profit,  and  at  storage  rates  probably  one-third  those  of 
New  York  City. 

To  Chicago's  merchants  a  local  cotton  market  would 
mean  a  substantial  expansion  in  the  city's  marketing 
territory.  To  financial  interests  it  would  mean  increased 
business  and  new  opportunities  for  the  employment  of 
capital.  To  the  Board  of  Trade  it  would  mean  increased 

206 


business  and  the  opportunity  of  making  Chicago  the 
country's  leading  cotton  market,  as  it  is  now  the  greatest 
grain  market. 

The  completion  of  the  Great  Lakes-St.  Lawrence 
waterway,  the  Illinois  waterway  and  the  creation  of 
large  harbor  facilities  provided  in  the  plans  for  the 
Illiana  and  Calumet  harbors,  as  well  as  the  industrial 
development  of  the  territory  along  the  sanitary  canal, 
make  certain  that  Chicago  will  not  overlook  this  oppor- 
tunity of  further  increasing  its  commercial  and  indus- 
trial leadership. 


207 


NEW   INDUSTRIES 


Printing  Drawn  to  Country's  Center — Paper,  Wool,  Auto- 
mobiles, Etc.,  Lines  Finding  Good  Production 
Point  Here. 


Chicago  is  known  as  a  city  of  balanced  industry,  and 
this  fact  constitutes  one  of  its  strongest  industrial  assets. 
The  city  producing  a  wide  variety  of  manufactured  prod- 
ucts is  always  in  a  stronger  and  more  strategic  position 
in  times  of  business  depression  than  the  city  with  but 
one  or  two  predominating  industries. 

With  perhaps  a  greater  diversity  of  output  than  any 
other  producing  center,  there  are  yet  important  industries 
not  represented  in  Chicago,  or  if  present,  on  a  smaller 
scale  than  the  importance  of  the  market  merits.  New  leg- 
islation, new  processes  and  changing  conditions  frequent- 
ly bring  Chicago  the  opportunity  to  expand  industrially. 

As  an  example  of  opportunities  which  comes  through 
legislation  and  changing  conditions,  the  publishing  in- 
dustry may  be  cited.  The  new  parcel  post  zoning  law 
placed  eastern  publishers  of  magazines  having  national 
distribution  at  a  distinct  disadvantage,  particularly  those 
whose  publications  carried  a  large  proportion  of  adver- 
tising matter.  The  printers'  strike  in  New  York  City, 
about  a  year  ago,  caused  a  number  of  these  magazines  to 
make  temporary  contracts  with  Chicago  publishers.  Ex- 
cellent service  and  material  savings  have  caused  these 
contracts  to  be  made  permanent.  An  eastern  magazine 
of  national  circulation  has  placed  with  a  local  concern 
a  contract  for  publishing  its  entire  western  edition  in 
Chicago  and  is  finding  that  publication  and  distribution 
in  the  center  of  the  Middle  West  effects  a  saving  of  at 
least  $300,000  annually.  These  are  but  indications  of  a 
trend  which  will  bring  to  Chicago  as  the  time  goes  on 
more  and  more  magazines  of  national  distribution. 

Paper  from  Chicago's  Waste 

Beginning  of  construction  of  the  first  unit  of  a  paper 
mill  which,  when  completed,  will  cost  $1,500,000  marks 
the  initial  step  in  paper  manufacturing  locally.  The 

208 


plant,  to  be  known  as  the  Waterway  Paper  Products 
Company,  will  produce  news  print  and  wall  paper  using 
largely  as  raw  material  waste  paper  collected  in  the  city. 
Later  other  paper  lines  will  be  added.  The  production 
of  paper  in  Chicago  is  the  logical  outgrowth  of  an  in- 
teresting business  developed  to  large  proportions  in  re- 
cent years  and  engaged  in  the  collection  and  sale  of  waste 
paper.  Chicago  is  thus  conserving  natural  resources 
and  beginning  an  industry  certain  to  expand  because  of 
an  almost  unlimited  local  market. 

With  75  per  cent  of  raw  wool  of  this  country  produced 
west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  it  has  always  seemed  an 
economic  waste  for  this  wool  to  be  shipped  to  eastern 
mills  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  then  shipped  back  to 
the  Middle  West  as  wool  cloth  to  be  consumed  by  manu- 
facturers of  clothing  who  produce  about  50  per  cent  of 
the  country's  output.  Production  in  proximity  to  raw 
material  supplies,  and  in  the  center  of  a  great  market, 
are  local  advantages  which  have  been  given  emphasis 
with  the  increased  freight  rates  brought  about  by  the 
war.  Indeed,  one  large  woolen  manufacturer  had  plans 
for  a  $5,000,000  plant  in  Chicago  under  preparation 
when  the  business  slump  developed  a  year  ago.  That 
this  plant  will  be  built  when  business  revives  cannot  be 
stated  authoritatively,  but  it  is  certain  that  woolen  manu- 
facturers will  not  be  slow  to  recognize  the  advantages 
Chicago  possesses  and  will  ultimately  locate  industries 
here  where  local  raw  material  and  a  great  market  make 
for  economic  production  and  distribution. 

Automobile  Manufacture 

With  50  per  cent  of  the  automobiles  and  motor  trucks 
of  the  nation  owned  in  the  middle  western  states,  of 
which  Chicago  is  the  leading  distributing  center,  it  is  ap- 
parent that  the  local  market  offers  large  possibilities  for 
manufacturers  of  automobiles,  motor  trucks,  rubber  tires 
and  automobile  supplies.  All  of  these  lines  are  now  rep- 
resented in  Chicago,  but  in  all  of  them  the  opportunities 
for  further  development  are  almost  without  limit.  Of 
significance  to  automobile  and  motor  truck  manufac- 
turers is  Chicago's  strategic  railroad  situation.  Here 
the  manufacturer  can  be  assured  of  adequate  transporta- 
tion at  all  times.  Business  prosperity  can  never  clog 

209 


the  city's  many  trunk  and  belt  lines  and  drive-a-ways  will 
be  unnecessary. 

Among  many  other  industries  in  which  a  favorable 
situation  with  respect  to  transportation,  raw  materials, 
market,  labor  and  economical  production  costs  suggests 
opportunities  for  further  expansion  may  be  mentioned 
glass  products,  hospital  supplies,  machine  tools,  heavy 
and  light  cutlery,  hardware  lines,  aeroplanes  and  equip- 
ment, shoes,  chemicals,  knitted  goods  and  drugs  and 
medical  supplies. 


210 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS 


Current    Demonstrations    in    Chicago's    Industrial    World 

Point  to  Improvement  in  Working  Principles  and 

in  Standards  of  Industrial  Morality. 


Americanism  in  industrial  relationships  is  the  de- 
mand of  the  day,  and  "freedom"  and  "independence" 
with  all  the  significance  of  national  traditions  are  its 
watchwords.  The  employer  asks  for  himself  no  prin- 
ciples of  advantage  which  he  does  not  concede  to  the 
employed.  In  the  current  year  in  Chicago  two  events 
have  done  much  to  guide  public  thinking  about  a  com- 
plex local  situation,  and  to  make  more  convincing  the 
function  of  arbitration  in  settlement  of  labor  troubles. 
What  Chicago  anxiously  seeks  is  the  general  resumption 
of  work  at  a  just  wage,  and  also  the  correction  of  fla- 
grant evils  in  the  building  industry. 

These  two  influential  events  have  been  an  investiga- 
tion by  a  state  legislative  committee,  and  a  decision  by 
Judge  K.  M.  Landis,  of  the  federal  court,  in  determina- 
tion of  wages  and  regulations  in  the  building  industry. 
These  are  current  and  local  events  signifying  progress — 
back  of  and  beneath  these  manifestations  of  the  march 
toward  industrial  freedom  has  been  and  is  the  national 
movement  to  attain  relations  of  liberty,  co-operation  and 
fellowship  in  all  industry,  and  indications  of  this  pur- 
pose appear  in  acts  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the 
United  States  and  in  the  policies  of  the  employers  of 
Chicago. 

Investigations  and  Decisions 

Chicago's  building  industry  seems  emerging  from  an 
impossible  state  of  corruption  and  blockade  by  virtue  of 
the  investigations  of  a  joint  committee  of  the  Fifty -sec- 
ond general  assembly  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  known  as 
the  Dailey  committee,  John  Dailey,  chairman;  and  by 
virtue  of  important  adjudications,  leading  to  resumption 
of  work  in  the  building  trades  by  co-operation  of  the 
parties  at  interest,  at  the  hands  of  Judge  Landis  as  arbi- 
trator. The  invited  intervention  of  Judge  Landis  as  arbi- 

211 


trator  has  been  a  constructive  episode  in  the  drama  of 
industrial  progress  and  of  like  service  have  been  the  in- 
vestigations of  the  legislative  committee.  The  decision 
of  Judge  Landis  if  accepted  tends  to  unbind  a  shackled 
industry.  He  reduced  the  wages  of  skilled  and  unskilled 
labor  in  the  building  trades  from  10  to  36  per  cent,  and 
promulgated  new  rules  and  conditions  designed  to  re- 
store this  industry  to  a  sound  basis. 

The  decision,  Thursday,  September  8,  of  nation-wide 
interest,  was  in  arbitration  of  wage  differences  between 
employers  and  employes  in  building  construction,  the 
matter  of  arbitration  having  been  submitted  to  the  jurist 
June  10,  1921,  and  followed  an  agreement  entered  into 
between  the  Building  Construction  Employers'  Associa- 
tion, the  Associated  Builders  and  the  Chicago  Building 
Trades  Council,  authorizing,  after  several  weeks  of  idle- 
ness in  the  industry,  Judge  Landis  as  umpire  to  fix  the 
wages  to  be  paid  in  the  several  trades  represented,  the 
award  to  become  effective  when  made  and  remain  in  force 
until  May  31,  1922.  It  was  also  agreed  that  on  or  before 
February  1,  1922,  the  umpire  should  determine  the  rates 
to  control  from  May  31  that  year  for  the  period  of  one 
year.  The  agreement  also  contained  other  provisions. 
The  following  trades  were  not  parties  to  the  arbitration: 
Carpenters,  elevator  constructors,  plasterers,  sheet  metal 
workers,  painters,  glaziers  and  fixture  hangers. 

Findings  of  Dailey  Committee 

Evidence  before  the  Dailey  committee  indicated  pay- 
ment of  tribute  to  grafting  labor  business  agents,  and 
resort  to  many  devices  by  associations  of  employers  and 
material  men  to  stifle  competition  and  increase  prices. 
The  committee  said: 

Working  rules,  jurisdictional  disputes,  and  agreements  of  va- 
rious unions  and  crafts  have  furnished  a  fertile  field  for  crim- 
inal operations  of  dishonest  business  agents.  The  evidence  ad- 
duced along  this  line  convinces  the  committee  that  scarcely  any 
building,  large  or  small,  erected  in  the  city  of  Chicago  within 
the  last  two  years,  has  been  immune  from  the  imposition  of  graft. 
The  methods  employed  in  exacting  graft  have  been  infinite  in 
disguises.  It  has  been  exacted  in  the  form  of  insurance  against 
strikes  by  the  payment  of  money  before  construction  of  buildings 
has  been  begun,  or  by  the  payment  of  large  sums  of  money  to 
prevent  strikes  called  upon  the  slightest  or  no  pretext  whatever, 

212 


by  the  payment  of  money  to  call  off  strikes,  whether  such  strikes 
had  any  foundation  or  not  from  the  union  labor  viewpoint. 

Associations  of  material  men  have  been  guilty  of  practices  as 
hurtful  to  building  operations  as  the  criminal  practices  of  crooked 
business  agents.  These  associations,  by  cunningly  devised  schemes, 
have  endeavored  to  avoid  the  conspiracy  laws  of  the  state.  Ex- 
change of  cost  information,  pooling  of  bids,  exchange  of  bids  and 
of  price  lists,  reporting  to  each  other  of  bids  and  contracts, 
average  cost  systems,  restrictive  agreements  with  labor  unions, 
agreements  with  dishonest  labor  leaders,  and  many  forms  of  "co- 
operative competition"  and  other  euphemisms,  have  served  as  de- 
vices for  the  restraint  of  trade  and  the  inflation  of  prices  of 
building  materials.  The  financial  burdens  imposed  upon  the 
building  industry  by  these  associations  are  greater  even  than  those 
imposed  by  grafting  business  agents. 

The  opinion  expressed  by  many  witnesses  is  that  the  artificial 
burdens  placed  upon  building  by  crooked  business  agents  and 
criminal  associations  connected  with  the  building  industry  have 
increased  the  cost  of  building  in  Chicago  at  least  30  per  cent. 
These  agencies  are  largely  responsible  for  the  housing  shortage 
in  Chicago,  the  almost  complete  cessation  of  building,  and  in- 
creased rentals. 

Trade  Associations  Under  Scrutiny 

The  committee  has  inspired  recent  legislation  to  break 
up  the  "piratical  practices  of  dishonest  business  agents" 
and  has  been  compelled  to  witness  the  defeat  of  a  bill 
designed  to  correct  what  in  the  opinion  of  the  committee 
was  "the  most  malignant  malady  of  the  building  indus- 
try." The  bill  was  patterned  after  the  federal  anti-trust 
laws  and  the  anti-trust  laws  of  the  leading  states  of  this 
country.  It  was  a  bill  for  an  act  in  relation  to  contracts, 
combinations  and  conspiracies  in  restraint  of  trade  and 
commerce.  In  view  of  the  desperate  efforts  made  to  de- 
feat the  measure,  the  Dailey  committee  feels  that  investi- 
gations should  seek  all  of  the  methods  employed  for 
price-fixing  by  associations  proposed  to  be  affected  by 
the  bill,  and  the  committee  feels  that  the  permanent  com- 
mission established  by  the  present  legislature  should  de- 
vote much  of  its  efforts  to  this  service.  Some  fifteen 
important  trade  associations  have  been  under  investiga- 
tion by  the  Dailey  committee.  A  special  grand  jury  in 
Cook  County  has  returned  many  indictments  and  the  fed- 
eral special  grand  jury  has  been  carrying  on  appropri- 
ate investigations.  The  aforesaid  commission  which  suc- 
ceeds the  committee  on  investigation  is  given  even  greater 
powers  than  the  committee  itself,  and  the  commission, 

213 


says  the  committee,  "should  continue  vigorously  until  the 
evil  and  the  sinister  situation  hampering  the  building  in- 
dustry is  completely  eradicated.  The  committee  feels 
that  the  disclosures  unearthed  by  it,  together  with  the 
speedy  and  successful  prosecution  of  the  indictments  al- 
ready obtained,  will  destroy  the  grafting  business  agents 
and  price-fixing  associations,  and  bring  an  early  resump- 
tion of  building  operations." 

The  National  Problem 

A  production  situation  such  as  the  above,  which  has 
imposed  hardship  upon  hundreds  of  thousands  in  a 
housing  crisis,  and  has  otherwise  worked  great  loss  to 
this  city,  is  an  industrial  calamity  which  can  and  must 
be  arrested,  but  it  is  the  nation-wide  program  of  labor — 
its  policies  and  operation — which  constitutes  the  greater 
problem  and  which  in  its  manifestations  in  Chicago  as 
throughout  the  country  can  be  settled  permanently  and 
therefore  justly  only  by  labor's  recognition  of  the  su- 
preme general  principle  which  should  govern  both  em- 
ployer and  employe,  that  of  freedom  and  independence. 
Seeking  this  end  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the 
United  States  in  1919  issued  a  proposed  liberty  pro- 
gram, a  program  submitted  by  business  for  the  common 
advantage  of  labor  and  capital,  and  in  1920  the  labor 
policy  committee  of  The  Chicago  Association  of  Com- 
merce arrived  at  certain  principles  of  industrial  liberty. 
These  principles  may  be  said  to  govern  the  employing 
forces  of  Chicago  at  large.  The  merits  of  these  prin- 
ciples invite  general  understanding  and  strenuous  sup- 
port. A  Chicago  industrial  policy  based  upon  these 
principles  will — 

A  Chicago  Industrial  Policy 

Protect  the  employer  and  employe  in  the  right  of  free- 
dom of  contract. 

Prevent  any  interference  with  persons  seeking  to  work 
and  earn  a  living. 

Protect  the  public  right  in  the  free  and  uninterrupted 
use  of  streets  and  transportation  of  persons  or  goods. 

Oppose  restrictions  of  output,  discrimination  in  the 
use  of  materials,  limitation  of  apprentices,  sympathetic 
and  jurisdictional  strikes  and  boycotts. 

214 


Oppose  the  payment  of  money  or  other  considerations 
for  settlement  of  strikes  or  special  privileges. 

Before  the  many  hundreds  of  commercial  and  trade 
organizations  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  United 
States  that  great  body  placed  certain  principles  which, 
if  in  effect  should,  it  was  believed,  bring  about  peace 
and  justice  in  industrial  relations.  These  principles  pre- 
suppose a  generosity  of  sentiment  actuating  both  bodies 
and  the  need  of  peace  in  industrial  adjustment.  Regu- 
larity and  continuity  of  employment  should  be  sought 
to  the  fullest  extent  and  the  right  of  workers  to  organize 
is  clearly  recognized  as  that  of  any  other  class  or  part 
of  the  community.  The  need  was  stressed  of  adequate 
representation  of  the  parties  at  interest  and  the  faithful 
observance  of  agreements  when  made.  Agreements 
should  contain  provision  for  prompt  and  final  interpre- 
tation in  event  of  controversy  regarding  meaning  or  ap- 
plication. Wages  should  be  adjusted  with  due  regard 
to  their  purchasing  power  and  to  every  man's  right  to 
an  opportunity  to  earn  a  living  at  fair  wages,  to  reason- 
able hours  of  work  and  working  conditions,  to  a  decent 
home  and  enjoyment  of  proper  social  conditions. 

Principles  of  National  Chamber 

The  principles  enunciated  condemned  as  a  subterfuge 
the  fixing  of  a  basic  day  as  a  device  for  increasing  com- 
pensation. The  principles  called  for  efficient  production 
in  conjunction  with  adequate  wages,  and  further  de- 
clared that  consideration  of  reduction  of  wages  should 
not  be  reached  until  possibility  of  reduction  of  costs  in 
all  other  directions  has  been  exhausted.  The  principles 
further  set  forth  that  administration  of  employment  and 
management  of  labor  should  be  recognized  as  a  distinct 
and  important  function  of  management  and  accorded  its 
proper  responsibility  in  administration  organization. 
Finally  the  national  chamber  called  for  a  system  of  na- 
tional employment  offices  subject  to  civil  service  law  with 
policies  determined  in  conjunction  with  the  national, 
state  and  local  advisory  boards,  and  equally  representa- 
tive of  employers  and  employes. 

The  Chicago  Association  of  Commerce  is  now  con- 
ducting preparatory  work  to  qualify  it  for  a  study  of 
the  present  unemployment  situation  in  this  city. 

215 


CHICAGO'S  DRAINAGE 


How  Health  and  Perpetuity  of  Chicago  Have  Been  Assured 

by  Great  Drainage  Engineering,  and  What  Are 

the    Sewage    Treatment    Projects    for 

Metropolis  of  Tomorrow 


Chicago's  sewerage  system  contemplates  sanitary  serv- 
ice for  about  3,000,000  people,  but  the  look  forward  is 
provision  for  4,000,000.  What  has  been  done  and  what 
has  been  projected  is  the  substance  of  the  following 
sketch  of  a  municipal  fundamental: 

The  Sanitary  District  was  organized  in  1889,  its  pri- 
mary object  being  the  protection  of  Lake  Michigan  from 
pollution  by  sewage.  The  first  work  of  the  district  was 
the  construction  of  the  main  drainage  channel  across 
the  Lake  Michigan-Mississippi  divide  from  the  Chicago 
River  at  Robey  Street  to  the  Desplaines  River  at  Lock- 
port.  This  work  was  accomplished  between  1892  and 
1900  and  in  January,  1900,  the  Chicago  River  was  re- 
versed, sufficient  water  flowing  from  Lake  Michigan  to 
properly  dilute  the  sewage  of  the  city.  The  city  of  Chi- 
cago reversed  the  sewers  which  discharged  into  the  lake 
and  turned  this  sewage  into  the  river.  The  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict widened  and  deepened  the  Chicago  River  and,  co- 
operating with  the  federal  government  and  the  city  of 
Chicago,  removed  center-pier  bridges  from  the  river. 

The  second  accomplishment  was  the  extension  (1903- 
1907)  of  the  main  drainage  channel  from  Lockport  to 
Joliet  and  the  development  of  power  from  the  water 
used  for  sewage  dilution.  This  power  is  sufficient  to 
light,  at  cost,  practically  all  of  the  parks,  boulevards 
and  streets  of  Chicago.  It  is  also  used  for  pumping 
water  and  sewage  and  some  is  sold  to  commercial  con- 
sumers. 

Protecting  North   Shore  Water   Supply 

Next  in  order  was  the  construction  (1908-1910)  of 
the  north  shore  channel  from  the  lake  at  Wilmette  to  the 
river  at  Lawrence  Avenue,  and  the  building  (1912-1915) 
of  intercepting  sewers  along  the  lake  front  from  Glencoe 

216 


to  Evanston.  This  project  turned  back  all  the  sewage 
of  the  north  shore  towns  away  from  Lake  Michigan. 

The  last  canal  project  is  the  Calumet-Sag  channel 
from  the  Little  Calumet  River,  at  Blue  Island,  to  the 
main  drainage  channel  at  Sag.  This  channel,  the  con- 
struction of  which  was  begun  in  1911  and  was  much  de- 
layed by  the  world  war,  is  practically  completed  and  its 
operation  will  reverse  the  flow  in  the  sewage-laden  Calu- 
met River.  The  Calumet  intercepting  sewer,  built  in 
conjunction  with  the  Calumet-Sag  channel,  will  intercept 
the  sewage  of  the  Calumet  region  and  deliver  it  to  the 
channel,  whence  it  will  be  carried  to  the  main  drainage 
channel. 

With  the  completion  and  operation  of  the  before 
mentioned  channels  and  sewers,  the  primary  object  of 
the  Sanitary  District  is  accomplished.  Lake  Michigan, 
the  source  of  our  abundant  water  supply,  is  protected 
from  pollution  by  sewage  originating  in  the  Sanitary 
District,  which  is  the  whole  region  between  the  Indiana 
state  line  and  the  north  line  of  Cook  County.  A  move- 
ment is  on  foot  to  organize  the  towns  along  the  lake 
shore  further  north,  in  Lake  County,  into  another  sani- 
tary district  to  co-operate  with  the  Sanitary  District  of 
Chicago  in  keeping  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan  free 
from  pollution  by  sewage  from  any  of  the  communities 
within  the  limits  of  the  state  of  Illinois.  Going  beyond 
the  southern  portion  of  Chicago,  efforts  are  being  made 
to  organize  Indiana  Harbor,  East  Chicago,  Hammond, 
Gary  and  other  towns  into  a  district  to  handle  the  prob- 
lem along  the  shore  in  Northern  Indiana. 

Navigation  Advantage 

In  addition  to  the  accomplishment  of  the  primary  ob- 
ject of  the  Sanitary  District,  and  incidentally  the  use 
of  its  waste  water  for  power,  we  have  a  Chicago  River 
widened  to  200  feet,  deepened  to  26  feet,  with  all  sharp 
bends  eliminated,  spanned  by  modern  bascule  bridges; 
in  fact,  so  improved  that  the  largest  boats  on  the  Great 
Lakes  can  navigate  it  safely.  Beyond  that  we  have  a 
ship  canal  with  a  minimum  width  of  160  feet  and  depth 
of  24  feet  cut  across  the  divide  between  Lake  Michigan 
and  the  Mississippi  River  for  a  distance  of  33  miles, 
the  most  important  link  in  the  long  desired  waterway 

217 


from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  Calu- 
met-Sag channel  is  an  important  auxiliary  branching 
off  from  the  main  channel  at  Sag  and  leading  directly 
to  the  proposed  new  Calumet  harbor,  the  Illiana  har- 
bor, and  the  industrial  region  in  the  Calumet  District. 
By  this  canal  through  traffic  can  pass  around  instead 
of  directly  through  Chicago. 

Before  the  operation  of  the  main  drainage  channel 
there  were  recorded  in  a  year  174  deaths  from  typhoid 
to  each  100,000  inhabitants  of  Chicago.  Now  the 
typhoid  death  rate  is  less  than  one. 

Plans  That  Look  Far  Forward 

So  much  for  past  accomplishments.  The  canal  and 
sewer  systems  before  mentioned  provide  adequately  for 
approximately  3,000,000  people,  which  is  about  the  pres- 
ent population  of  the  Sanitary  District.  By  1950  this 
population  will  be  increased  to  probably  5,000,000.  To 
provide  for  the  increase  the  Sanitary  District  has  laid 
out  an  elaborate  program  and  has  begun  the  construc- 
tion of  sewage  treatment  plants.  To  determine  the  best 
method  of  sewage  disposal,  other  than  dilution,  the  Sani- 
tary District  has  been  studying  the  problem  experi- 
mentally since  1908.  Elaborate  experiments  have  been 
conducted  on  domestic  sewage  (from  the  region  south  of 
Thirty-ninth  Street,  1908-1912),  on  Stockyards  and 
Packingtown  wastes  (1912-1918),  on  tannery  wastes 
(1919  to  date)  and  on  other  special  industrial  wastes, 
such  as  those  of  the  Corn  Products  Company,  etc. 

There  are  now  under  construction  two  large  sewage 
treatment  plants.  One  at  Twelfth  Street  and  the  Des 
Plaines  River  (begun  in  1919  and  to  be  completed  early 
in  1922)  will  treat  the  sewage  now  going  into  the  Des 
Plaines  River  from  Maywood,  Forest  Park,  part  of  Oak 
Park,  River  Forest  and  other  towns  along  the  Des 
Plaines.  This  will  clean  up  the  Des  Plaines  River  and 
make  it  a  fit  stream  to  run  through  our  forest  preserves. 
The  other,  the  Calumet  sewage  treatment  plant,  begun  in 
1921  and  to  be  in  service  by  1923,  will  treat  practically 
all  the  sewage  in  the  Calumet  region. 

t  Sewage  Treatment  Projects 

The  start  toward  sewage  treatment  having  been  made, 
the  carrying  out  of  sewage  treatment  projects  will  be 

218 


pushed  as  rapidly  as  the  finances  of  the  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict will  permit.  There  are  four  immense  projects  now 
under  consideration,  viz.,  the  North  Branch,  the  West 
Side,  the  Stockyards  and  the  Southwest  Side,  which,  com- 
bined with  the  Des  Plaines  and  the  Calumet,  will  cover 
the  entire  Sanitary  District. 

Land  has  already  been  purchased  west  of  Evanston 
for  the  North  Branch  sewage  treatment  plant,  which  is 
now  being  designed  to  take  care  of  a  population  of 
1,000,000  people.  Construction  will  be  started  before 
the  end  of  the  present  year  on  intercepting  sewers  to  lead 
to  this  plant  the  sewage  of  the  area  north  of  Fullerton 
Avenue  and  south  of  the  north  line  of  Cook  County. 

The  West  Side  plant  will  take  the  sewage  of  all  the 
district  south  of  Fullerton  Avenue,  the  Loop  district  and 
the  area  west  of  the  Chicago  River.  This  project  will 
handle  the  sewage  of  2,000,000  people  and  its  construc- 
tion will  logically  follow  that  of  the  North  Branch 
project. 

Negotiations  with  the  packing  interests  are  now  under 
way  to  determine  the  basis  on  which  the  Stockyards 
sewage  treatment  plant  will  be  constructed  and  operated. 
The  points  in  dispute  should  be  settled  and  construction 
started  in  the  near  future.  The  wastes  from  this  industry 
are  equivalent  to  the  domestic  sewage  of  1,000,000  peo- 
ple, so  this  plant  will  be  a  project  of  some  size. 

Finally  will  come  the  Southwest  Side  treatment 
project,  which  will  handle  the  sewage  of  about  2,000,000 
people  who  will  live  south  of  the  Loop  and  river  and 
north  of  Eighty-seventh  Street. 

All  the  sewage  treatment  plants  will  be  designed  with 
a  view  toward  future  expansion.  Sufficient  land  is  pur- 
chased at  each  site  to  make  room  for  the  future  growth. 
The  population  to  be  served  will  be  near  5,000,000  peo- 
ple by  1950,  but  it  will  not  stop  at  that  figure.  When 
the  above  outlined  program  is  carried  out  the  Chicago 
River  and  the  drainage  channels,  instead  of  receiving 
raw  sewage  as  at  present,  will  receive  clear  effluent  from 
the  treatment  plants  and  the  improvement  over  present 
conditions  will  be  as  great  as  the  present  is  over  the  past, 
when  the  Chicago  River  was  in  fact  an  open  sewer  and 
a  menace  to  the  health  of  the  community. 


219 


220 


CHICAGO  NEEDS  CONVENTION  HALL 

Cities  Seeking  to  Dispute  Chicago's  Lead  as  Convention 
Center  Build  Fit  Meeting  Place— Exposition  Hall- 
Municipal  Pier — Public  Garage 


Chicago  greatly  needs  a  convention  hall  which  should 
be  a  town  meeting  hall,  auditorium  and  exhibit  hall  com- 
bined, with  smaller  meeting  and  exhibition  halls  in- 
cluded. It  should  have  a  seating  capacity  of  upwards  of 
7,000  in  the  main  auditorium  with  smaller  halls  seating 
50,  200,  500  and  1,000  respectively.  It  should  have  rail- 
road connections  and  so  located  as  to  be  convenient  of 
access  from  all  parts  of  the  city.  Chicago  is  each  year 
losing  a  number  of  valuable  conventions  and  exhibits 
with  and  without  conventions  because  of  lack  of  suitable 
facilities  in  which  to  hold  such  gatherings.  Other  cities 
such  as  Milwaukee  and  Cleveland  have  facilities  to  care 
for  the  larger  affairs  beyond  Chicago's  accommodations. 

An  earlier  Chicago  boasted  on  the  lake  front  posses- 
sion of  an  exposition  hall  which  as  one  function  in  its 
use  was  the  scene  of  an  industrial  exhibition.  For  many 
years  Chicago,  mindful  of  its  own  past  and  of  successful 
practice  in  other  communities,  has  declared  that  an  in- 
stitution of  this  nature  should  be  revived,  and  now  with 
the  recent  successful  accomplishment  on  the  Municipal 
Pier  of  an  enterprise  of  this  nature,  as  a  gratifying  busi- 
ness and  pleasure  event  of  the  summer  of  1921,  Chicago 
is  asking  itself  again  whether  it  should  not  systematically 
set  about  creation  of  seasonal  as  well  as  annual  industrial 
shows.  A  spacious  and  convenient  exposition  hall  suit- 
ably located  would  fulfill,  apart  from  a  separate  conven- 
tion hall  as  such,  many  of  the  conditions  which  constitute 
the  requirements  of  the  Great  Central  Market.  Aside 
from  such  an  idea,  however,  is  the  adaptation  of  the  Mu- 
nicipal Pier,  further  distinguished  as  a  public  utility  by 
the  late  Pageant  of  Progress,  to  the  uses  of  an  exposition 
building  and  a  convention  hall. 

Mayor  Thompson  and  others  concerned  in  the  produc- 
tion of  the  late  industrial  exposition  on  the  pier,  the 
Pageant  of  Progress,  express  the  hope  that  means  will 

221 


be  found  to  develop  this  shipping  and  recreational  prop- 
erty as  follows: 

First:  Extend  the  floor  of  the  upper  level  across  the 
present  open  space,  providing  for  heavy  floor  loads  and 
proper  roof  to  insure  ventilation  and  protection  against 
heat  and  cold. 

Second:     Install  a  heating  plant  for  winter  operation. 

Third:  Insulate  the  side  walls  and  roofs  of  the  two 
present  wings  to  admit  of  winter  use. 

Fourth:  Provide  partitions  or  movable  dividing  walls 
so  that  any  separate  unit  of  space  may  be  used  without  in- 
terference by  another  part. 

Where  Park  Multiplying  Cars? 

Since  the  automobile  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  a 
utility  in  addition  to  being  a  pleasure  vehicle  Chicago 
has  done  nothing  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  thou- 
sands who  daily  drive  through  the  downtown  district. 
With  increased  travel  in  its  streets  we  have  been  forced 
to  place  restrictions  upon  parking  without  compensating 
in  any  way.  Each  year  there  is  an  increasing  number 
of  people  who  come  into  Chicago  on  pleasure  or  business 
bent  in  automobiles.  They  are  bewildered  and  may  be 
fined  if  they  are  forced  to  leave  their  machines  long 
enough  to  spend  the  money  they  have  appropriated  for 
pleasure  or  merchandise.  Some  of  the  best  thought  in 
this  community  has  studied  this  problem.  It  is  hoped 
by  many  that  an  underground  garage  may  be  built  in 
Grant  Park  or  elsewhere  which  will  remove  from  the 
streets  and  swallow  up  the  waiting  automobile.  A  big 
private  garage  enterprise,  involving  erection  of  a  high 
building,  has  been  one  of  the  announced  projects  of  the 
recent  past.  An  impressive  sight  from  any  building  on 
the  lake  front  is  the  acres  of  automobiles  in  orderly 
alignment  in  Grant  Park,  Chicago's  emergency  mod- 
ernization of  the  hitched  teams  of  visiting  farmers  sur- 
rounding the  business  and  official  center  of  less  metro- 
politan communities  yesterday,  and,  with  a  striking  in- 
crease in  the  number  of  automobiles,  necessary  today. 


222 


RAILWAY  CLEARING  YARDS 


Twelve    Trunk    Lines    Operating    With    World's    Largest 

Facility  of  Kind  Expedite  Chicago's  Freight 

Movement 


With  thirty-nine  railways,  including  twenty-four  great 
railway  systems,  terminating  in  Chicago,  it  is  not  strange 
that  among  the  many  railway  yards  which  handle  the 
vast  interchange  business  which  the  Great  Central  Mar- 
ket creates  there  should  he  one  yard  notable  in  concep- 
tion and  in  the  facilities  offered. 

At  the  southwest  corner  of  the  city  lie  the  great  clear- 
ing yards  of  the  Belt  Railway  of  Chicago,  adjacent  to 
the  Clearing  Industrial  District. 

These  yards  constitute  the  largest  facility  of  its  kind 
in  the  world.  They  stretch  for  a  distance  of  live  and 
one-half  miles  in  length,  one-half  mile  in  width,  and 
contain  150  miles  of  track  with  a  handling  capacity  of 
10,000  cars  daily.  Chicago's  clearing  yards  are  built 
on  the  gravity  system,  that  is,  cars  destined  for  a  given 
road  are  brought  up  a  grade  to  the  crest  of  a  hill  or 
hump  and  released  to  coast  under  their  own  weight  down 
grade,  where  at  a  given  point  an  intricate  system  of 
switches  diverts  them  to  the  proper  classification  tracks. 
In  this  manner  trains  of  miscellaneous  cars  brought  into 
the  yards  by  the  Belt  Railway  are  broken  up  and  the 
individual  cars  sent  over  the  hump  to  the  classification 
tracks  of  the  outgoing  lines.  Complete  trains  are  thus 
made  up  in  a  remarkably  short  time  for  each  trunk  line 
and  sent  on  their  way. 

The  Belt  Line  Railway  and  its  transfer  yards  at  Clear- 
ing is  owned  by  twelve  of  Chicago's  important  trunk 
lines  serving  the  east,  west,  north  and  southern  sections 
of  the  country.  Thus  there  has  been  created  here  a  great 
service,  beneficial  alike  to  local  business  and  industry,  to 
the  participating  roads  and  to  the  outside  shipper  into  or 
through  Chicago. 

New   Gravity   Switching   Yard 

The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  has  under  con- 
struction about  22  miles  from  its  terminal  at  South  Water 

223 


Street  in  Chicago  a  large  switching  and  classification 
yard  known  as  Markham  Yard.  This  yard  is  to  be  the 
northern  terminal  for  steam  service  operation  after  com- 
pletion of  electrification  within  the  city  limits. 

Markham  Yard  will  be  the  southerly  terminus  of  the 
electrification  of  the  Illinois  Central  lines  in  Chicago 
except  for  the  suburban  passenger  service,  which  will 
be  electrified  to  the  southerly  end  of  the  suburban  dis- 
trict at  Matteson,  28  miles  from  Chicago.  At  Markham 
Yard  the  engines  of  through  passenger  trains  will  be 
changed  to  electric  engines  when  the  through  passenger 
service  has  been  electrified  within  the  city  limits.  The 
yards  with  its  mechanical  and  other  terminal  facilities 
and  buildings  is  estimated  to  cost  about  $5,000,000. 


224 


GROWTH  OF  COMMUNITY  CENTERS 


Industrial  and  Domestic  Influences  Fashion  Development 
of  New  Centers  of  a  Greater  Chicago 


Visitors  to  Chicago  often  remark  that  Chicago  sug- 
gests to  them  a  group  of  cities,  or  communities,  each 
with  its  special  interests,  but  all  being  bound  together 
for  the  common  welfare.  South  Chicago  is  a  striking 
example  of  a  well -developed  community,  fully  capable 
of  standing  by  itself,  yet  part  of  the  city.  Several  large 
industrial  plants  are  located  in  South  Chicago,  but  their 
offices  are  in  Chicago.  The  suburbs  are  also  examples 
of  separate  communities  whose  interests  are  intimately 
bound  up  with  those  of  the  city  proper. 

One  of  the  significant  developments  of  recent  years 
lias  been  the  location  of  many  factories  in  groups  in 
what  were  formerly  outlying  districts  of  Chicago.  This 
has  brought  about  a  decentralization  of  the  industries, 
which  were  once  grouped  in  districts  that  were  much 
closer  to  the  main  parts  of  the  city. 

Manufacturers  who  have  moved  into  the  new  districts 
explain  that  they  have  gained  several  advantages.  They 
hold  that  the  old  districts  were  outgrown  and  had  be- 
come too  congested,  making  the  handling  of  freight  diffi- 
cult and  being  too  far  away  from  the  homes  of  employes. 

Industrial  Advantages 

The  new  districts  are  where  the  plants  have  the  best 
of  switching  facilities,  which  do  away  with  the  necessity 
for  teaming.  Raw  materials  are  unloaded  directly  from 
the  cars  and  shipments  are  sent  out  the  same  way.  This 
simplifies  the  handling  of  freight  and  reduces  such  costs 
to  the  minimum.  The  loaded  cars  are  switched  to  the 
railroad  yards,  where  they  are  attached  to  trains  which 
take  them  to  their  destinations.  Less-than-carload  ship- 
ments are  also  handled  in  this  way,  as  shipments  made 
by  several  factories  are  grouped  until  they  fill  a  car. 

Another  advantage  is  that  the  plants  in  the  outlying 
districts  are  located  close  to  the  homes  of  employes,  many 
of  whom  are  able  to  walk  to  and  from  their  work.  If 

225 


they  ride  the  cars  are  not  crowded  in  these  localities 
and,  besides,  the  worker  going  home  from  these  plants 
usually  goes  in  the  opposite  direction  from  the  main 
rush  of  travel.  This  plan  also  gives  relief  for  the 
crowded  districts  where  the  workers  were  formerly  forced 
to  make  their  homes.  The  workmen  evidently  like  this 
plan,  for  they  are  buying  homes  and  are  settling  down. 
They  are  often  helped  by  the  employers  in  buying  homes, 
as  there  is  then  less  chance  of  the  workman  leaving  and 
going  to  some  other  plant.  These  homes  are  much  more 
healthful  than  those  where  the  workmen  formerly  lived. 

Development  of  Little  Cities 

There  are  strips  of  big  manufacturing  plants  along  the 
western  side  of  Chicago,  especially  to  the  south.  These 
include  some  of  the  largest  industrial  establishments  in 
the  West.  In  addition  to  having  favorable  business  fa- 
cilities these  plants  are  located  in  an  unusually  attractive 
district.  They  are  close  to  Western  Avenue  boulevard. 
The  workmen  live  in  localities  which  are  suburban-like. 
They  have  ample  school  facilities  for  their  children. 
There  are  stores,  churches  and  banks  within  easy  reach. 
The  presence  of  the  big  plants  has  caused  rapid  develop- 
ment of  localities  which  were  merely  prairies  a  few 
years  ago.  Residents  of  these  localities  who  wish  to 
reach  the  city  can  do  so  by  trolley  car.  Bankers  who  are 
familiar  with  conditions  in  these  neighborhoods  say  that 
the  workers  are  thrifty,  that  they  wish  to  own  homes  and 
that  they  are  evidently  much  better  off  than  when  they 
lived  in  rented  quarters  in  congested  districts.  The  em- 
ployers are  pleased  with  this,  as  they  hold  that  a  con- 
tented employe  is  the  best  workman.  Home  building  or- 
ganizations have  been  started  at  a  number  of  plants.  The 
officials  of  the  companies  finance  these  building  plans 
and  the  workmen  make  payments  in  installments,  much 
as  they  formerly  did  in  paying  rent. 

Several  plants,  formerly  located  in  or  near  the  down- 
town district,  chose  outlying  locations  after  taking  a  vote 
among  their  employes.  This  was  somewhat  in  the  form 
of  a  survey  which  showed  the  location  of  the  home  of 
every  employe.  When  these  locations  were  determined 
a  site  was  chosen  that  was  as  near  as  possible  to  the 
homes  of  the  majority  of  the  workers. 

226 


CHICAGO  AS   AVIATION   CENTER 


The    Great    Central    Traffic,    Commercial    and    Population 

Center  Needs  a  Farseeing  Program  to  Establish 

Its  Proper  Place  in  Continental  Flying 


Chicago's  aviation  program  will  be  determined  by  its 
own  initiative  and  national  co-operation.  Here  is  the 
logical  center  of  great  manufacturing  and  operating  ac- 
tivities, and  here  early  in  farther  development  of  local 
and  continental  aeronautics  should  be  created  a  munici- 
pal air  port  or  harbor;  indeed,  say  practical  men,  there 
should  be  two  ports,  one  near  downtown  for  passengers 
and  express,  and  at  the  edge  of  the  city  an  extensive  plant 
with  hangars,  repair  apparatus,  meteorological  station 
and  wireless  service.  A  primary  necessity  seems  first  to 
be  ground  facilities  rather  than  flying  machines  them- 
selves. Needless  to  say,  however,  with  terminals  must 
go  properly  marked  air  routes.  At  the  University  of 
Illinois  war  needs  developed  activities  related  to  the 
general  problem  of  the  state's  advance  in  aeronautics. 

The  Chicago  Plan  Commission  has  discussed  the  ad- 
visability of  landing  fields  provided  on  extensions  of 
the  new  lake  front,  these  being  merely  for  quick  landing 
and  the  handling  of  passengers,  after  which  the  machines 
would  go  on  to  the  above  mentioned  larger  field,  and 
the  Ashburn  field  is  believed  by  many  to  be  the  best  for 
the  purpose.  Whatever  the  field's  location,  it  must  be 
far  enough  romoved  from  the  city's  building  activities  to 
warrant  broad  and  permanent  development.  Airplanes 
are  expected  to  come  when  facilities  have  been  made 
ready  for  them.  At  the  present  writing  the  would-be  air 
traveler  on  a  hurried  mission  must  take  an  hour  to  reach 
this  field  from  the  business  district.  If  it  were  possible 
that  such  a  person  could  start  on  such  a  voyage  in  the 
neighborhood  of  this  business  district  a  pilot  would  put 
him  forward  100  miles  on  his  way  during  the  time  of 
his  land  movement  to  the  distant  terminal. 

Chicago  Needs  Facilities  for  Night  Flying 

An  important  step  in  aeronautic  progress  would  be  a 
downtown  passenger  station  for  out-of-town  business. 

227 


People  cannot  become  interested  in  owning  airplanes 
or  hiring  them  until  there  are  all  the  facilities  of  service, 
and  at  the  present  time  Chicago  has  no  facilities  for 
night  flying,  and  there  must  be  flying  by  night. 

The  well  advised  insist  that  Chicago  should  make  a 
bid  to  the  country  for  the  manufacture  of  planes.  Here 
is  the  center  of  the  country's  transportation  and  here 
should  be  the  center  of  aircraft  construction.  In  Europe 
aviation  companies  are  aided  by  subsidies  to  help  them 


In  the  spacious  prairies  where  the  wild  onion    ("Chicago") 

grew  has  risen  a  colossal  mercantile  house  with  like  nowhere 

in   the   world.     The   business,    in    1919,    of   this,    the   parent 

establishment,  amounted  to  $219,218,100. 

Copyrighted    photo    taken    from    the   air    by    Ralph    C.    Digging    Co. 

get  started,  and  financial  help  may  be  needed  here.  Sev- 
eral plans  have  been  suggested  to  make  Chicago  a  manu- 
facturing center,  but  no  manufacturing  is  done  here  yet, 
except  in  the  making  of  parts  by  different  firms.  As  to 
the  degree  of  business  in  this  city  in  the  selling  of  air- 
planes, it  may  be  said  that  during  the  last  two  years 
about  200  machines  have  been  disposed  of  and  these 

228 


have  been  sent  all  over  the  country,  especially  to  the  oil 
fields  of  the  South. 

Federal  Legislation  Necessary 

While  the  airplane  industry  of  Chicago  is  in  an  in- 
cipient and  unorganized  state,  thought  is  being  given  to 
its  development  and  to  one  basic  difficulty  in  the  fact 
that  there  are  no  uniform  laws  in  this  country  governing 
aircraft  and  there  has  been  little  or  no  local  legislation, 
while  to  develop  aeronautics  as  a  national  pursuit  on 
a  great  scale  those  who  enter  it  must  know  their  legal 
status,  and  efforts  are  being  made  to  lead  the  govern- 
ment to  establish  federal  control  of  the  air  just  as  a 
nation  now  has  control  of  the  sea  to  a  point  three  miles 
from  land.  To  this  end  may  be  necessary  a  constitu- 
tional amendment.  The  present  tendency,  restricting 
aviation  development,  is  for  each  state  or  smaller  com- 
munity to  pass  its  own  laws,  and  these  are  likely  to  con- 
flict with  the  laws  of  other  communities.  When  air  navi- 
gation acquires  a  legal  status  real  progress  will  begin. 
Constructive  federal  legislation  is  a  necessity,  a  parallel 
being  found  in  the  regulation  of  waterways.  Chicago 
and  New  York  have  simultaneously  passed  ordinances 
regulating  flying  within  city  limits,  with  the  provi- 
sion that  these  regulations  shall  be  effective  only  until 
federal  laws  are  passed.  At  present  flying  at  less  than 
2,000  feet  of  elevation  is  prohibited,  although  a  lower 
altitude  can  be  taken  when  an  airplane  can  glide  to  a 
flying  field. 

It  is  contended  that  no  manufacturer  can  develop  new 
designs  that  will  be  used  in  quantities  warranting  produc- 
tion to  pay  a  profit  until  this  war  material  is  disposed 
of,  the  business  protected  by  proper  legislation,  and  pub- 
lic confidence  established,  all  of  which  is  now  only  in 
its  beginning.  Now  is  the  time,  it  is  further  contended, 
to  plan  for  the  future  of  construction  and  operation — 
rather  than  for  the  promotion  of  large  undertakings  which 
must  first  be  proved  to  the  public  as  safe  and  time-saving 
and  commercially  profitable.  As  for  Chicago's  relation 
to  aviation  as  an  arm  of  military  defense  this  is  a  prob- 
lem in  itself,  and  its  consideration  thus  far  since  the 
great  war  has  probably  been  confined  to  federal  authori- 
ties. 

229 


WATER    TRANSPORTATION 


Illinois  Waterway  and  Great  Lakes-St.  Lawrence  Project 

With    Suitable   Harbor   Improvements    Promise 

Establishment  of  Chicago  as  Seaport 

in  Seven  Years 


Indian  and  trader's  canoe,  pioneer's  pack,  ox-cart, 
prairie  schooner,  canal  boat,  railroad,  lake  sailing  craft 
and  steamships,  these  by  virtue  of  the  dispensations  of 
nature  and  of  the  will  and  vision  of  old  world  explorers 
and  new  world  adventurers  and  settlers,  determined  the 
birth  and  growth  of  a  continental  transportation  center 
and  market,  here  where  meet  the  natural  routes  of  land 
and  water,  here — Chicago. 

Geography,  transportation,  climate  and  resolute  men 
are  the  primary  conditions  of  Chicago's  being.  Rare 
endowments  these,  but  they  must  be  fostered  and  en- 
hanced. Lake  shipping — many,  many  sails  and  none  to- 
day— the  abandonment  of  that  important  economic 
factor  of  a  half  century  ago,  the  Illinois  and  Michigan 
canal,  the  multiplication  of  railroads  until  all  the  conti- 
nent has  turned  hitherward — all  of  these  forces  of  prog- 
ress have  been  interacting  and  advancing  this  city,  but 
great  changes  have  occurred  in  their  relations,  and  water 
transportation  does  not  supplement  land  transportation 
to  the  degree  required  by  the  growing  industry  and 
commerce  of  the  country  and  by  Chicago,  the  central 
commercial  and  industrial  capital. 

Fluctuations  of  Lake  Tonnage 

In  1871  Chicago  shipped  by  lake  12,121,000  bushels 
of  wheat;  in  1891,  31,103,000;  in  1914,  first  war  year, 
56,456,000;  in  1920,  11,193,000.  Her  heaviest  corn 
shipment  was  97,167,000  bushels  in  1898,  and  her 
heaviest  shipment  of  oats  was  50,193,000  in  1897.  Her 
lake  trade  in  flour,  as  great  as  3,472,000  barrels  in 
1908,  had  fallen  to  3,000  barrels  in  1920.  Entrances 
and  clearances  of  vessels  at  the  port  of  Chicago  in  1900 
were  16,966;  in  1920,  7,051.  Within  these  years  the 
highest  cargo  tonnage  received  and  shipped  was  13,- 

230 


275,320  in  1913.  The  preponderant  lake  borne  cargo  is 
iron  ore,  amounting  in  1920  to  6,496,034  tons,  received 
in  the  Calumet  River,  heavy  receipts  at  Gary  and  Indiana 
Harbor  not  included. 

In  the  Central  West  has  matured  a  purpose,  fostered 
by  such  representative  bodies  as  the  Mississippi  Valley 
Association,  to  develop  water  communication  with  the 
Gulf  by  the  Illinois  River  and  other  streams,  and  with 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  by  the  Great  Lakes  and  improved 
St.  Lawrence  River  waterways,  the  guiding  American  or- 
ganization promoting  the  latter  project  being  the  Great 
Lakes-St.  Lawrence  Tidewater  Association.  Already  an 
international  joint  commission  has  gathered  in  the  United 
States  and  Canada  the  views  of  authorities  on  the  ele- 
ments of  such  an  undertaking,  and  engineers  have  been 
appointed,  in  terms  of  official  instructions,  "to  take 
charge  of  the  survey  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  Montreal 
to  Lake  Ontario,  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  plans 
and  estimates  for  its  further  improvement  to  make  the 
same  navigable  for  deep-draft  vessels  of  either  the  lake 
or  ocean-going  type,  and  to  obtain  the  greatest  beneficial 
use  from  these  waters."  The  report  of  the  engineers  is 
in  hand  and  there  is  awaited  the  recommendations  to  the 
two  governments  of  the  International  Joint  Commission, 
composed  of  three  Americans  and  three  Canadians. 

Illinois  Waterway  Improvement 

None  before  Chicago  has  greater  interest  in  this  revo- 
lutionizing international  project,  with  which  is  related, 
although  a  prior  conception  and  wholly  independent  of 
it,  the  improvement  of  the  Illinois  River  already  au- 
thorized as  to  financing  and  execution  by  the  people  of 
this  state.  The  work  will  consist  of  the  canalization  of 
the  Des  Plaines  and  Illinois  rivers  from  Lockport  to 
Utica,  a  distance  of  61  miles,  and  the  incidental  devel- 
opment of  75,000  hydroelectric  horsepower. 

The  Illinois  River  below  Utica  must  be  improved,  and 
this  can  be  done  without  difficulty  within  the  necessary 
time  for  the  completion  of  the  Lockport-Utica  canaliza- 
tion. This  work  falls  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
United  States,  and  is  still  to  be  authorized  by  congress. 
In  fact,  the  exact  character  of  this  part  of  the  whole  im- 
provements will  somewhat  depend  upon  the  determina- 

231 


tion  of  the  allowable  outflow  of  water  through  the  Chi- 
cago drainage  channel.  Chicago  is  therefore  interested 
in  securing  proper  action  by  congress  covering  these 
questions.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  factional  differences 
can  be  buried  and  that  all  our  citizens  will  work  to- 
gether to  this  end.  The  money  to  be  spent  by  the  fed- 
eral government  will  be  small  compared  with  what  the 
state  of  Illinois  has  authorized  in  connection  with  the 
Lockport-Utica  work,  a  total  of  $20,000,000. 

There  is  every  reason  to  expect  that  within  seven  years, 
and  perhaps  within  five  years,  the  Illinois  barge  canal 
will  be  completed  between  Lockport  and  Utica,  so  that 


Ore  is  now  a  large  item  in  lake  tonnage;  the  vessels  are  big  and 

the  unloading  facilities  have  speed  and  gigantic  grasp.     This  is 

the  steamer  Harvester  unloading  at  South  Chicago. 

Permission    of   International    Harvester    Company. 

barges  carrying  up  to  1,000  tons  and  even  more  can  run 
directly  between  Mississippi  River  points  and  Chicago. 
It  is  also  to  be  hoped  that  the  work  already  authorized 
by  congress  on  the  Mississippi,  Ohio  and  Missouri  Rivers 
will  be  completed  without  delay  so  that  barge  transpor- 
tation may  become  a  reality.  The  Monongahela  River, 
where  the  improvements  were  completed  about  twenty 
years  ago,  has  been  and  is  used  so  satisfactorily  that  the 
practicability  of  this  type  of  transportation  seems  as- 
sured. 

Chicago  Can  Be  a  Seaport  in  Seven  Years 

But  the  greater  project,  Chicago's  new  way  to  the  seven 
seas — when  as  an  ocean  port  may  she  receive  at  her  own 

232 


docks,  direct  from  shipper,  to  market,  the  world's  raw 
and  finished  products  and  dispatch  to  distant  markets 
her  own  manufactures,  and  the  assembled  foodstuffs  and 
goods  concentrated  here  by  rail,  lake  and  river  and  as- 
sorted for  domestic  and  overseas  shipment  in  such  a  vast 
clearing  house  as  Illiana  Harbor  is  devised  to  be?  The 
answer  may  be  positive  but  of  the  nature  of  prediction. 

Chicago  ought  to  be  a  seaport  within  seven  years.  As- 
suming that  one  more  year  will  be  sufficient  for  the  ne- 
gotiations between  the  United  States  and  Canada  and 
the  enactment  of  the  necessary  legislation,  one  additional 
year  for  perfection  of  the  engineering  investigations  and 
the  building  up  of  an  organization,  and  allowing  an 
additional  five  years  for  actual  construction,  Chicago 
ought,  as  said,  to  be  a  seaport  within  seven  years. 

If  it  is  assumed  that  the  two  governments  agree  and 
authorize  the  improvement  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  that 
the  new  Welland  Canal,  which  is  now  approximately 
40  per  cent  finished,  will  be  completed  within  the  same 
time,  Chicago  may  then  expect  to  do  direct  a  large  for- 
eign commerce.  Chicago  is  therefore  confronted  imme- 
diately with  the  problem  of  harbors.  No  time  should 
be  lost  in  undertaking  the  improvements  contemplated 
under  existing  laws.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that 
while  for  the  present  the  channels  through  Detroit  River 
and  Lake  St.  Clair  have  a  navigable  depth  of  only  21% 
feet,  one  may  expect  progressive  deepening  in  the  future 
the  same  as  in  the  past.  Our  harbors  should  therefore 
be  planned  so  that  not  less  than  30  feet  navigable  depth 
will  be  available  or  easily  attainable  by  dredging  as  re- 
quired. 

The  sixteen  states  backing  the  St.  Lawrence  project 
produce  75  per  cent  of  the  country's  wheat,  65  per  cent 
of  the  corn,  100  per  cent  of  the  flax,  85  per  cent  of  the 
iron,  39  per  cent  of  the  copper,  74  per  cent  of  the  zinc, 
46  per  cent  of  the  lead.  The  Great  Lakes  produce  upon 
their  shores  countless  articles  entering  into  foreign  trade. 
Present  transportation  routes  to  the  sea  are  costly  and 
unreliable. 

In  January,  1918,  there  were  418  vessels  held  in  New 
York  harbor  for  lack  of  fuel  and  cargoes  because  of  car 
shortage.  In  the  fall  of  1917  the  Northwest  suffered 

233 


The  Mississippi  Valley's  proposed  twofold  outlet  to  the  sea  prom- 
ises to  make  Chicago  the  world's  great  central  inland  seaport. 
Here  is  to  develop,  by  means  of  the  Great  Lakes-St.  Lawrence 
waterway  and  the  Illinois  waterway,  an  even  larger  transfer  point 
with  facilities  proposed  or  authorized  of  vast  capacity  and 
efficiency. 

Map  by  courtesy  of  H.  C.  Gardner 

234 


for  lack  of  6,000,000  tons  of  coal,  and  to  supply  the  need 
it  was  necessary  to  use  50  per  cent  of  the  freight  cars  of 
forty-seven  railroads  for  many  weeks  and  later  to  use 
them  to  make  up  the  iron  ore  shortage. 

For  all  of  the  export  traffic  from  the  Great  Lakes 
states  and  the  Northwest,  and  for  most  domestic  traffic 
destined  for  the  eastern  seaboard,  the  St.  Lawrence  River 
will  furnish  a  direct  route  with  average  saving  of  800 
to  1,500  miles  of  rail  haul  and  elimination  of  the  exces- 
sive costs  of  transfers  involved  at  Atlantic  ports. 

The  area  which  will  benefit  directly  from  the  proposed 
route  for  commerce  with  the  United  Kingdom  and  west- 
ern Europe,  including  the  Baltic  Sea,  has  a  population  of 
about  41,000,000,  and  the  area  tributary  by  commerce 
with  the  Mediterranean  ports  has  a  population  of  about 
36,000,000.  An  area  having  a  population  of  about  30,- 
000,000  will  benefit  by  water  traffic  with  South  America, 
while  20,000,000  will  benefit  through  direct  ocean  trade 
with  the  West  Indies  and  Central  America.  Furthermore, 
a  territory  of  21,000,000  will  get  advantage  from  coast- 
wise vessel  service  to  and  from  the  ocean  ports  of  the 
United  States.  The  direct  water  haul  from  Chicago  to 
Liverpool  is  859  miles  less  than  from  New  Orleans  and 
1,043  miles  less  than  from  Galveston.  The  area  tributary 
to  the  Great  Lakes-St.  Lawrence  deep  waterway  extend 
to  the  western  boundary  of  Montana. 

Millions  of  Home  Population  Benefited 

A  total  of  over  41,000,000  people  of  the  country's 
105,683,108  would  be  benefited  by  the  St.  Lawrence 
waterway  improvement.  The  products  of  this  area  have 
an  annual  value  of  over  $26,000,000,000,  the  country's 
entire  production  being  estimated  at  over  $70,000,000,- 
000  annually. 

The  passage  through  the  canals  and  dredged  chan- 
nels between  Montreal  and  Duluth  under  the  proposed 
project  will  involve  a  total  delay  of  about  12.6  hours  as 
compared  with  the  navigation  of  an  equal  distance  in 
open  waters.  This  loss  of  time  will  lessen  the  earning 
ability  of  the  vessel  to  about  the  same  extent  as  an  in- 
crease of  120  miles  in  the  length  of  the  voyage.  Such 


235 


an  increase  in  distance  of  a  voyage  of  between  3,000  and 
5,000  miles  is  of  no  consequence. 

Tonnage  and  Horse  Power 

It  may  be  expected  that  within  five  years  after  the 
opening  of  the  St.  Lawrence  waterway  it  will  carry  a 
commerce  of  not  less  than  20,000,000  tons  a  year.  On  a 
basis  of  population  it  is  estimated  that  28,000,000  tons  of 
exports  and  12,000,000  tons  of  imports  originate  in  the 
area  tributary  to  the  Great  Lakes.  The  rail  traffic  in  and 
out  of  Chicago  alone  amounts  to  nearly  200,000,000  tons 
without  duplication. 

By  the  St.  Lawrence  ship  channel  would  be  received 
pulpwood,  sulphur,  china,  clay,  coffee,  cocoa,  sugar, 
fruits  and  nuts,  rubber,  fertilizer  materials,  lumber, 
hides,  asphaltum,  gums,  tanning  extracts,  sago  and  tapi- 
oca, fibres  and  textile  grasses,  flaxseed,  seeds  for  planting, 
spices,  vegetable  oil,  granite  and  a  great  number  of  other 
imports.  Outward  bound  from  the  Great  Central  Mar- 
ket and  Mississippi  Valley  seaports  would  be  grain,  iron 
and  steel,  coal,  agricultural  implements,  automobiles  and 
other  vehicles,  salt,  copper,  meat,  dairy  products,  linseed 
oil,  rubber  goods,  leather,  furniture,  paper,  live  stock 
and  manufactured  goods  other  than  enumerated. 

The  St.  Lawrence  River  when  fully  improved  would 
develop  4,000,000  horsepower,  worth  about  $60,000,000, 
and  saving  from  35,000,000  to  50,000,000  tons  of  coal 
annually.  To  haul  this  coal  from  the  mines  to  the  fac- 
tory would  require  one  trip  of  700,000  to  1,000,000  cars. 
If  the  power  of  the  St.  Lawrence  were  all  used  for  manu- 
facturing, the  value  of  the  raw  materials  would  be 
$2,600,000,000  and  of  the  finished  products  $4,400,000,- 
000. 

The  total  volume  of  freight  interested  in  this  waterway 
is  the  tonnage  now  moving  entirely  by  rail  between  the 
Great  Lakes  and  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  its  volume  being 
annually  about  250,000,000  tons. 


236 


ILLIANA   HARBOR 


Government    Engineer    Defines    Interstate    Location    for 
Great  Transfer  and  Industrial  Harbor  to  Provide 
for  Traffic  Which  New  Waterways  Will  De- 
velop in  Making  Chicago  Seaport 


It  is  the  belief  of  Col.  W.  V.  Judson,  U.  S.  A.,  federal 
engineer  directing  navigation  improvements  in  the  Chi- 
cago district,  that  this  city,  already  the  world's  greatest 
railway  center,  will  in  ten  years  be  the  northern  terminus 
of  an  eight-foot  barge  canal  connecting  the  Great  Lakes 
and  the  railways  centering  in  Chicago  with  the  coal 
mines  of  Illinois,  the  cotton  belt  of  the  southern  states, 
the  ocean  port  at  New  Orleans,  and  it  is  the  expectation 
of  this  authority  that  within  fifteen  years  Chicago  will 
be  connected  with  the  great  ports  and  sea  routes  of  the 
world  by  a  channel  from  twenty-two  to  twenty-five  feet 
deep  following  the  Great  Lakes  and  St.  Lawrence  River. 
Here,  then,  center  of  commerce,  are  to  meet  great  facili- 
ties of  transportation,  and  here  must  be  established  in- 
strumentalities for  a  great  world  port,  and  nature  al- 
ready has  set  her  hand  to  its  preparation. 

The  lands  are  low  lying  and  flat  and  the  submerged 
lands  of  the  foreshore  are  all  publicly  owned  and  can 
in  an  area  of  nearly  100  square  miles  be  raised  into  sur- 
face land  for  any  great  purpose.  Back  of  the  lake  shore 
are  some  92  miles  of  channel  available  within  an  urban 
area  for  barges  and  lighters,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  Chi- 
cago River  and  branches,  the  Main  and  Sag  Drainage 
Canals,  Calumet  River  and  branches,  and  the  Indiana 
Harbor  Canal. 

Where  Can  a  New  Port  Develop? 

The  requirements  of  a  great  future  direct  attention  to 
undeveloped  resources,  an  outlook  even  the  more  logical 
because  the  commerce  of  the  Chicago  River  is  now  but 
little  more  than  one-fifth  of  what  it  was  many  years  ago, 
and  the  commerce  that  remains,  through  the  operation 
of  bridges  and  interruptions  of  land  traffic,  impose  in- 
direct costs  with  which  the  future  must  reckon. 

237 


Where  can  the  new  port  develop? — not  along  the  city's 
immediate  lake  front,  not  along  those  parts  of  the  Michi- 
gan shore  already  occupied  by  industrial  plants.  Lake 
Calumet  may  be  developed  into  such  industrial  sites  as 
may  be  found  on  the  banks  of  the  Calumet  River  and 
the  Indiana  Harbor  Canal,  but  that  lake  will  not  serve  as 
the  center  of  a  great  transfer  harbor  because  of  the  bends 
and  bridges  interposing  between  it  and  Lake  Michigan. 
Harbor  sites,  however,  do  exist  in  the  shallow  lake  known 
as  Wolf  and  George  with  their  marshy  margins  lying 
close  to  Lake  Michigan  upon  the  Illinois  state  line,  and 
such  geographical  circumstances  have  led  the  United 
States  engineer  to  designate  his  proposed  greater  port 
project  "Illiana  Harbor."  Here  have  been  preserved 
from  industrial  or  urban  development  about  3^  miles 
of  Lake  Michigan  frontage  and  some  6  square  miles  of 
submerged  and  marshy  land  lying  immediately  shore- 
ward. 

Lake  Michigan  Shore  Near  Wolf  Lake 

It  is  the  belief  of  this  engineering  and  navigation 
authority,  whose  general  plans  for  harbor  improvement 
have  been  approved  by  the  war  department,  that  the 
Lake  Michigan  shore  near  Wolf  Lake  and  including  it 
offers  the  greatest  opportunity  of  this  region  for  the  crea- 
tion of  wharf  facilities  of  a  character,  magnitude  and 
location  suited  to  the  needs  of  Chicago's  future.  It  is  to 
be  borne  in  mind  that  if  modern  convenient  port  facili- 
ties are  not  created  in  the  Chicago  district  somewhat  as 
proposed  these  will  be  created  somewhere  else  along  the 
southern  end  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  if  thus  created  they 
will  be  less  convenient  for  commerce  than  they  might  be 
if  located  at  or  near  the  state  line,  and  just  so  much  more 
of  the  great  commercial  hinterland,  south,  west  and 
northwest  of  Chicago,  which  should  belong  to  the  south- 
ern end  of  Lake  Michigan,  will  be  divided  between  the 
ports  of  Toledo,  Milwaukee,  Green  Bay  and  Duluth. 

The  engineer's  general  plan  shows  sixteen  piers  on  the 
Lake  Michigan  shore,  each  3,000  feet  long  and  750  feet 
wide  and  affording  at  the  same  time  place  for  232  ves- 
sels of  an  average  length  of  500  feet.  Behind  the  wharfs 
on  the  lake  front  would  be  railway  yards  for  the  accom- 
modation of  16,000  freight  cars.  Inside  the  shore  line,  in 

238 


Wolf  Lake,  would  be  nine  piers  750  feet  wide  and  aver- 
aging 4,100  feet  long,  together  with  additional  wharf 
frontage,  the  whole  providing  for  the  accommodation  of 
212  vessels  averaging  500  feet  in  length.  Behind  the 
Wolf  Lake  piers  would  be  yards  for  the  movement  and 
storage  of  about  8,400  freight  cars.  The  total  wharf 
frontage  within  and  outside  the  shore  line  would  pro- 
vide for  444  vessels,  averaging  500  feet  long,  and  more 
than  24,400  cars  would  be  cared  for  within  the  yards. 
The  accompanying  warehouses  would  store  2,473,500 
tons  of  freight. 

Illinois  and  Indiana  Take  Initial  Steps 

It  is  fair  to  assume  that  congress  would  consider  build- 
ing with  federal  funds  the  breakwater  and  entrance  of 
Wolf  Lake.  Barges  from  the  Illinois  and  Mississippi 
Rivers  would  reach  the  wharves  by  the  Sag  channel  and 


The  great  Illiana  harbor  project  of  Col.  W.  V.  Judson,  U.  S.  A., 

which  the  states  of  Illinois   and  Indiana,   by  legislative   action, 

are  about  to  study. 

239 


the  Little  Calumet  and  Calumet  Rivers,  either  passing 
out  of  the  mouth  of  the  latter  into  the  area  protected  by 
the  breakwater,  or  being  admitted  to  Wolf  Lake  by  a 
canal  connecting  the  southern  end  of  the  latter  with  the 
Calumet.  Lake  and  ocean  vessels  might  with  but  slight 
deviation  from  their  courses  stop  at  the  wharves  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  River  to  put  on  and  off  pas- 
sengers and  certain  express  and  local  freight. 

It  is  probable  that  a  detour  would  be  arranged  for  the 
many  fast  passenger  trains  which  now  cross  Wolf  Lake's 
channel  of  exit  near  the  Lake  Michigan  shore  line.  To 
realize  this  scheme  of  port  facilities  the  states  of  Indiana 
and  Illinois  have  taken  the  first  joint  steps,  that  is,  pro- 
vision for  creation  of  a  harbor  commission. 

Today  at  the  port  of  Chicago  the  principal  existing 
port  facilities  may  be  classed  as  industrial,  whereas  the 
facilities  at  New  York  have  for  their  primary  function 
that  of  transfer  from  railway  to  vessel  and  vice  versa. 
The  Chicago  industrial  and  commercial  district  has  a 
water-borne  commerce  of  nearly  20,000,000  tons  per 
annum  as  compared  with  New  York's  45,000,000,  and 
the  great  bulk  of  the  Chicago  movement  consists  of  raw 
materials.  Chicago's  port  facilities  for  transfer  purposes 
are  the  grain  elevators  on  the  Calumet  and  Chicago 
Rivers,  but  with  the  great  waterway  avenues  in  contem- 
plation Chicago  must  plan  on  a  large  scale  for  modern 
port  facilities  and  for  transfer  purposes. 

Wonderful  Industrial   Port   Possibilities 

After  construction  of  the  proposed  waterways  to  the 
sea  terminating  in  Chicago,  and  after  development  of 
proper  transfer  as  distinguished  from  industrial  port 
facilities,  lighters  and  barges  will  doubtless  be  required 
to  land  at  the  industrial  plants,  and  in  one  of  the  great- 
est industrial  districts  of  the  world,  along  the  Indiana 
Canal  and  Calumet  River,  on  the  lake  front  at  Gary,  Indi- 
ana Harbor  and  Calumet  Harbor,  and  eventually  in  Calu- 
met Lake  are  wonderful  opportunities  for  industrial  port 
development,  a  small  fraction  of  which  is  now  used. 

The  function  of  a  transfer  harbor  means  the  shifting 
of  freights  between  ocean  vessels,  lake  vessels,  barges, 
lighters,  warehouses  and  railway  cars.  The  piers  would 
be  on  the  quay  system  with  transit  sheds.  Railroad 

240 


tracks  would  traverse  each  pier.     There  would  be  vast 
railway   yards. 

And  there  are  other  kinds  of  port  facilities,  and  one  is 
a  lighterage  service.  If  a  great  transfer  port  becomes 
operating  in  Chicago  lighters  will  be  used  on  a  large  and 
increasing  scale  connecting  transfer  port  facilities  with 
great  and  small  industrial  plants  and  with  the  ware- 
houses of  merchants  everywhere  about  the  district.  It  is 
felt  by  some  that  the  Chicago  River  as  an  avenue  of  light- 
ers and  barges  would  thus  perform  a  much  more  useful 
service  to  the  commerce  of  the  district  than  it  does  now, 
even  if  in  the  future  it  proves  best  to  replace  movable 
with  fixed  bridges.  Barges  plying  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
would  be  able  to  deliver  and  receive  cargoes  wherever 
lighters  could  operate  and  in  scattered  localities  would 
be  needed  minor  terminals  for  lighters  and  barges. 

Local  Passenger  and  Package  Freight 

Another  class  of  terminals  would  be  to  receive  and 
store  bulky  matter  such  as  building  materials  and  coal  to 
be  locally  consumed.  Still  another  class  of  port  facilities 
would  be  required  to  care  for  the  local  passenger  and 
package  freight  steamers  plying  Lake  Michigan  and  han- 
dling package  freight  mostly  originating  in  or  destined 
for  the  retailing  or  jobbing  districts  of  Chicago.  Facili- 
ties of  this  class  would  be  found  at  the  Municipal  Pier 
and  in  harbor  districts  Nos.  1  and  2  at  the  river  mouth 
and  in  No.  3  extending  southward  from  Sixteenth  Street, 
and  in  addition  there  would  be  port  facilities  of  special 
characters  contemplating  summer  excursion  service  and 
reception  of  Michigan  fruits  and  vegetables.  Finally, 
Chicago  should  expect  to  provide  for  the  service  of  ocean 
vessels  carrying  passengers  in  large  numbers. 

The  states  of  Indiana  and  Illinois  have  already  enacted 
laws  providing  for  an  interstate  harbor  commission  to  in- 
vestigate and  report  upon  the  feasibility  of  a  public  in- 
terstate harbor  in  Wolf  Lake  and  upon  the  shore  of  Lake 
Michigan  near  Wolf  Lake  lying  partly  in  the  state  of 
Indiana  and  partly  in  the  state  of  Illinois.  Each  act  con- 
templates the  addition  of  a  federal  member  to  the  two 
members  of  the  commission  to  be  appointed  from  each 
state,  and  an  appropriation  is  made  by  each  state  in  the 
sum  of  $25,000. 

241 


CALUMET  INDUSTRIAL  HARBOR 


One  of  Chicago's  Latest  Constructive  Decisions  Is  to  Build 
an  Important  Industrial  Harbor  in  Lake  Calumet 


Adoption  by  the  city  council  of  an  ordinance  to  create 
an  inland  industrial  harbor  at  Lake  Calumet  in  July  of 
the  present  year  marked  another  forward  step  in  Chi- 
cago's efforts  to  secure  adequate  water  terminal  facili- 
ties in  preparation  for  the  era  of  waterway  development 
foreshadowed  by  the  Great  Lakes-St.  Lawrence  and  Lake- 
to-Gulf  waterway  projects. 

The  plan  for  the  creation  of  a  vast  industrial  harbor 
in  Lake  Calumet  was  prepared  by  the  committee  on  har- 
bors, wharves  and  bridges  of  the  city  council  and  con- 
templates the  creation  of  a  deep  water  channel  a  third 
of  a  mile  wide  and  two  and  one-half  miles  long,  with  a 
dozen  deep  slips  on  the  side  of  the  channel  capable  of 
accommodating  the  largest  ships  now  plying  the  Great 
Lakes. 

Completion  of  the  plan  will  involve  the  expenditure 
of  between  $3,500,000  and  $4,000,000  and  the  creation 
of  more  than  1,450  acres  of  land  alongside  the  harbor 
suitable  for  intensive  industrial  development.  Details  of 
the  plan  provide  for  a  system  of  belt  line  railway  serv- 
ice so  that  industries  locating  on  the  new  harbor  will 
be  afforded  both  rail  and  water  connections. 

The  action  of  the  council  follows  an  act  of  the  last 
legislature  turning  over  to  the  city  the  state's  rights  to 
the  submerged  lands  at  Lake  Calumet.  No  money  for 
construction  purposes  has  so  far  been  appropriated  and 
it  is  therefore  probable  that  the  public  will  be  asked  to 
approve  a  bond  issue  at  a  later  date  to  cover  the  financ- 
ing. 

It  is  important  to  understand  that  the  plan  pro- 
vides for  the  creation  of  an  industrial  rather  than  a 
transfer  harbor.  When  completed  the  Calumet  harbor 
will  supplement  and  fit  in  admirably  with  the  Illiana 
harbor  which  is  planned  to  care  for  the  large  transfer 
business  between  rail  and  water  that  will  come  to  Chi- 

242 


cago  with  the  completion   of  the  two  great  waterway 
projects  in  which  the  city  is  so  vitally  interested. 


«,      L*  CALUMET 


Authorized  conversion  of  Calumet  Lake  into   a  great  industrial 
harbor. 

By  permission  of  Chicago  Tribune 


243 


POSTAL  SERVICE 


Chicago's    Great    Need    of    New    Post    Office    Shown    by 
Restricted  Efficiency  in  Handling  Vast  Business 


A  new  main  post  office  is  an  essential  not  alone  to 
Chicago  but  to  the  business  of  the  continent  itself,  and 
by  unanimous  action  of  the  Chicago  Plan  Commission, 
May  24,  1921,  Chicago  has  petitioned  congress  that 
money  be  appropriated  at  once  for  purchase  of  the  site 
of  two  blocks  between  Canal,  Clinton,  Madison  and 
Adams  Streets,  reasons  for  acquisition  being  that  the 
site  is  universally  accessible,  not  to  speak  of  its  relation 
to  the  present  post  office  by  wagon  or  tube;  that  it  has 
adequate  street  room;  that  it  fronts  upon  the  two-level 
portion  of  Canal  Street;  that  it  is  located  between  the 
Northwestern  and  Union  stations,  where  62  per  cent  of 
Chicago's  mail  is  handled. 

Before  the  house  of  representatives — and  similar 
measures  have  been  introduced  at  other  sessions — is  a 
resolution  providing  for  increasing  the  cost  of  the  new 
post  office  site  from  $1,750,000  to  $6,000,000,  estimated 
cost  of  the  proposed  site.  Unless  congress  acts  favor- 
ably in  the  near  future  Chicago's  postal  service  will 
cease  to  function  to  the  required  degree  of  efficiency. 
When  the  Chicago  Plan  Commission  acted  as  aforesaid 
it  came  to  its  conclusions  through  consideration  of  the 
following  conditions: 

Cogent  Reasons  for  Improved  Facilities 

Chicago's  postal  facilities  are  inadequate  with  dark 
and  unsanitary  working  quarters. 

Public  sidewalks  are  used  for  handling  and  storage  of 
mail,  a  practice  amounting  to  a  nuisance  in  the  congested 
central  district. 

As  long  as  four  years  ago  thousands  of  firms  and 
commercial  bodies  in  Chicago  and  236  cities  in  nineteen 
states  petitioned  congress  for  relief. 

On  January  21,  1920,  the  Chicago  city  council  formally 
deprecated  congressional  delay. 

Chicago's    postal    receipts    since    completion    of    the 

244 


present  office  have  increased  211  per  cent,  increase 
greater  than  the  combined  postal  business  in  1919  of 
Boston,  Detroit,  Cincinnati,  Kansas  City  and  Jersey  City. 
These  receipts  have  increased  $13,000,000  in  the  past 
five  years  alone,  $3,000,000  more  than  the  total  receipts 
of  Philadelphia,  third  largest  post  office  in  the  United 
States. 

The  approximate  postal  tonnage  of  all  classes  in  1895 
was  27,267.9,  and  receipts  were  $4,594,319.36.  In  1919 
tonnage  had  risen  to  269,875.7  and  receipts  to  $35,674,- 
466.79.  The  receipts  for  1920  were  $43,005,319.27.  It 
is  estimated  that  in  1945  the  tonnage  will  be  882,734.7 
and  receipts  $121,930,885.59.  The  approximate  square 
feet  of  space  required  to  handle  Chicago's  mail  in  1919 
was  915,337.  In  1925  it  will  be  1,442,819,  and  in  1945 
3,552,747. 

The  congestion  of  the  present  post  office  building  has 
caused  the  mail  service  of  today  to  be  25  per  cent  less 
rapid  than  it  was  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago. 

The  postmaster  of  Chicago  provides  the  following  in- 
structive advices  suggesting  postal  growth  and  require- 
ments : 

Enormous  Growth  of  Business 

The  postal  receipts  of  1920— $43,005,319.27— show 
an  increase  over  those  of  1919  of  $4,848,057.20,  or  12.7 
per  cent.  In  1878  the  receipts  were  $975,500.65. 

In  1920  the  number  of  pieces  of  mail  of  all  classes 
originating  in  Chicago  was  2,374,558,543,  and  the  num- 
ber delivered  in  Chicago  1,018,996,585.  Registered  ar- 
ticles mailed  here  numbered  4,103,028  and  registered 
articles  received  5,345,723. 

A  prospective  postal  improvement  is  the  Van  Buren 
terminal  to  be  erected  west  of  the  river  between  Van 
Buren  and  Harrison  Streets,  a  building  796  feet  long  by 
75  feet  wide  and  six  stories  high.  It  is  proposed  to  con- 
solidate in  this  building  mail  operations  now  performed 
in  local  terminals  and  to  install  facilities  for  the  sale 
of  postage  stamps  and  the  handling  of  registry  and 
money  order  business.  Indeed,  in  general  here  will  be 
handled  the  bulky  second,  third  and  fourth  class  (parcel 
post)  matter. 

The  Quincy  station  is  now  fully  equipped  for  the 
handling  of  outgoing  parcel  post  mail,  and  delivery  of 

245 


local  mail  intended  for  the  territory  in  which  this  build- 
ing is  located  is  made  from  this  station,  and  money  order 
and  registry  business  is  also  conducted  in  this  building. 
Parcel  post  mail  for  local  delivery  is  sent  to  the  Eleventh 
Street  annex. 

Postal  improvements  in  aviation  service  opens  inter- 
esting possibilities.  It  is  not  improbable  that  post  office 
buildings  will  be  so  constructed  that  it  will  be  possible 
for  airplanes  to  alight  on  and  depart  from  their  roofs, 
thus  effecting  direct  delivery  and  dispatch  of  mails  and 
without  loss  of  time  in  hauling  to  and  from  aviation 
fields. 

Airplane  Postal  Service 

It  is  also  possible  that  mail  distribution  may  be  made 
in  transit  in  airplanes  operating  between  large  cities,  and 
that  the  delivery  of  mails  may  be  made  to  intervening 
points  without  the  need  of  planes  making  a  landing.  On 
the  transcontinental  airplane  route  between  New  York 
and  San  Francisco  there  will  be  placed  in  operation  six 
remodeled  army  airplanes  to  carry  double  the  amount 
of  mail  carried  in  the  present  type  of  machine.  These 
planes  will  carry  800  pounds  of  mail,  or  32,000  let- 
ters, with  no  additional  cost  for  fuel  or  pilots. 


246 


PUBLIC   UTILITIES 


Growth  of  Public  Services  from  Simple  Beginnings  Prom- 
ises a  Future  of  Wonderful  Accomplishments 


The  best  informed  about  the  tremendous  growth  of 
Chicago's  public  utilities  are  willing  to  guess  at  devel- 
opments of  the  next  twenty-five  years  but  frankly  refuse 
hazards  of  a  prediction  covering  half  a  century.  Already 
well  within  a  half  century  have  come  the  practical  mani- 
festations of  electricity,  and  what  has  happened  in  the 
field  of  communication  begets  anticipation  of  future 
miracles.  In  way  of  positive  assertion  based  upon  ac- 
tual antecedents  let  it  be  here  claimed  that  Chicago  will 
be  the  central  hub  of  the  electrical  system  of  the  nation. 
Its  northern  power  plant  will  be  at  Waukegan  and  its 
southern  at  the  most  important  distribution  point  in  the 
South  Chicago-Gary  district,  where  manufacturing  fa- 
cilities have  grown  to  colossal  size.  This  great  electrical 
belt  will  be  connected  with  high-power  transmission  lines 
of  200,000  to  500,000  voltage  reaching  far  into  the 
Northwest,  to  the  Mississippi  River,  to  the  coal  fields  of 
Illinois,  to  like  resources  of  Indiana  and  Kentucky,  and 
running  east  into  the  Pittsburgh  district  and  through 
Niagara  Falls  and  beyond  to  the  great  electrical  system 
that  will  have  been  built  up  in  the  New  England  states. 
In  that  not  distant  day  few  industries  will  develop  their 
own  power,  but  this  will  come  in  concentrated  form 
from  central  electric  plants,  eliminating  capital  invest- 
ment by  individuals,  economizing  labor  supplies,  con- 
serving the  country's  fuel  resources  and  lowering  pro- 
duction cost.  Gas  will  be  no  longer  an  illuminant  and 
will  develop  in  its  real  field  as  a  heating  agent  and  part 
of  manufacturing  processes.  Railroads  in  and  around 
Chicago  will  be  electrified. 

Industrial  Progress  of  Tomorrow 

Home,  street  and  industrial  lighting  will  transcend 
anything  now  imaginable.  Food  producing  areas  ad- 
jacent to  Chicago,  even  hundreds  of  miles  away,  will 
have  electrical  service  from  the  system  with  Chicago  as 

247 


its  hub.  Little  coal  will  come  to  this  city,  and  the  greatly 
developed  transportation  systems  of  that  day  being  re- 
lieved of  this  burden  will  have  increased  capacities  for 
other  services.  Gas  will  then  be  the  industrial  fuel  and 
Chicago  will  be  virtually  a  smokeless  city.  The  great 
source  of  gas  manufacture  will  be  in  the  South  Chicago- 
Gary  district,  where  smoke  and  fumes  will  be  converted 
into  pure  gas.  Residential  buildings  in  Chicago  of  all 
classes  will  be  heated  by  gas  from  central  plants  and 
with  the  consequent  economies  and  sanitary  benefits.  At 
the  mouths  of  coal  mines  will  be  great  gas  plants,  while 
in  Chicago  will  be  central  station  plants  supplement- 
ing gas  supplies  received  from  the  sources  of  coal  and 
oil. 

In  the  near  future  electric  transportation  will  have 
exceeded  the  progress  made  in  the  previous  quarter  of  a 
century.  Surface  and  elevated  electric  lines  will  have 
become  economically  related,  subways  will  reach  from 
the  city's  heart  far  outward,  suburban  lines  and  city 
lines  will  have  become  unified,  and  express  service  will 
be  emphasized.  Surface  lines  will  be  feeders  of  the  main 
trunk  lines.  Electricity  will  continue  to  be  the  pro- 
pelling power. 

Day  of  the  Wireless  Telephone 

In  the  extension  of  world  communication  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  cables  will  be  connected  directly  with  Chicago. 
Chicago  and  down-state  will  be  served  by  automatic  tele- 
phone systems,  improving  the  present  system,  however 
advanced  it  be  with  connections  by  operators.  The  wire- 
less telephone  will  continue  to  be  perfected,  and  it  is 
not  unreasonable  to  anticipate  that  the  present  commer- 
cial advantages  of  the  ordinary  telephone  will  have  be- 
come so  expanded  that  the  greater  portion  of  the  solicita- 
tion of  business  will  be  conducted  over  local  and  long 
distance  lines,  eliminating  much  expense  in  the  conduct 
of  business.  As  for  the  practical  development  of  wire- 
less telephony  he  will  guess  best  who  guesses  last. 

Properties  such  as  these  are  basic  to  a  community's 
well-being  and  their  administration  should  be  far  re- 
moved from  the  adversities  of  politics. 


248 


CHICAGO'S  FREIGHT  TUNNELS 


An  Unseen  Economic  Instrument  Affecting  Surface  Traffic 

Conditions  and  Downtown  Liveability  Is 

Freight  Tunnel  System 


How  many  Chicagoans  know  that  the  city  possesses 
a  subway  system  in  successful  operation?  To  most  peo- 
ple subways  mean  large  underground  passages,  designed 
to  carry  passengers,  but  Chicago's  system  was  built  to 
carry  freight  and  lighten  the  load  upon  its  already  abused 
streets.  Forty  feet  below  the  surface  of  every  downtown 
street  lies  a  network  of  small  subways  or  tunnels  through 
which,  day  and  night,  trains  hurry  to  carry  on  an  im- 
portant part  of  the  city's  business. 

More  than  60  miles  of  these  freight  arteries  not  only 
honeycomb  the  loop  district  proper,  but  extend  north 
to  Superior  Street,  west  as  far  as  Green  Street  and  south 
to  Sixteenth  Street. 

The  service  which  they  give  extends,  therefore,  to  the 
wholesale  and  light  manufacturing  district,  as  well  as 
to  the  office  building  and  department  store  section  of  the 
central  business  district.  Through  these  tunnels  132 
electric  locomotives  haul  trains  laden  with  their  full 
quota  of  the  city's  freight.  A  total  of  3,000  cars  is  op- 
erated, which,  if  made  into  one  train,  would  be  seven 
miles  long. 

In  volume,  the  most  important  business  is  the  handling 
of  merchandise  which  is  hauled  between  the  railroad  ter- 
minals, the  industries  and  business  houses  of  the  Loop 
district.  The  interchange  of  freight  between  railroad 
terminals  is  another  part  of  the  business  of  no  small 
size.  Totaled  up,  the  volume  of  merchandise  hauled  an- 
nually runs  between  six  and  seven  hundred  thousand 
tons. 

But  this  is  not  all.  Our  streets  and  our  lungs  are 
cleaner  because  between  60,000  and  100,000  tons  of  coal 
are  delivered  annually  to  office  buildings  and  business 
houses  via  the  tunnel.  In  addition  there  is  the  handling 
of  excavated  material,  cinders  and  other  forms  of  refuse. 
Of  these  there  is  about  220,000  cubic  yards  handled  an- 
nually. 

249 


RAILWAY   ELECTRIFICATION 


Problems     of     Transportation,     Cleanliness     and     Beauty 

Involved  in  an  Improvement  of  Progressive 

Realization 


Typical  of  Chicago's  way  of  attacking  large  problems 
is  the  beginning  it  has  made  toward  the  electrification  of 
railway  lines  and  terminals.  Closely  following  the  ex- 
haustive study  of  the  electrification  of  railway  terminals 
made  by  a  committee  of  The  Chicago  Association  of 
Commerce  in  1916,  came  the  three-party  negotiations  be- 
tween the  South  Park  Commissioners,  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad  and  the  city  of  Chicago  relative  to  the  de- 
velopment of  park  facilities  along  the  lake  front,  as  con- 
templated by  the  Chicago  Plan,  the  construction  of  a  new 
Illinois  Central  terminal,  and  the  provision  of  a  now 
harbor  district. 

These  negotiations  made  it  possible  for  the  city  nol 
only  to  take  a  big  forward  step  in  advancing  a  vital  part 
of  the  Chicago  Plan,  but  also  afforded  the  opportunity 
to  begin  the  realization  of  a  dream  in  the  heart  of  every 
citizen,  that  one  day  Chicago's  atmosphere  would  be  re- 
lieved of  smoke,  soot  and  other  forms  of  pollution. 

It  is  now  a  matter  of  history  that  in  connection  with 
the  lake  front  improvement  ordinance  passed  by  the  city 
council  on  July  21,  1919,  and  accepted  by  the  railroad 
companies  February  18,  1920,  there  was  included  provi- 
sions for  the  gradual  electrification  within  the  city  limits 
of  the  Illinois  Central,  the  Michigan  Central,  the  "Big 
Four,"  the  South  Chicago  Railroad  Company,  the  Ken- 
sington &  Eastern  Railroad  Company,  and  the  Blue  Island 
Railroad  Company,  comprising  the  group  of  roads  now 
using  the  present  Park  Row  station. 

According  to  the  provisions  of  this  ordinance,  the 
above  railroads  are  to  complete  the  electrification  of  all 
their  facilities  lying  within  the  city  limits  by  1940,  or 
within  a  period  of  nineteen  years  from  the  present  date; 
but  within  a  much  shorter  period  the  greater  part  of  the 
services  will  already  have  been  electrified. 

Following  a  preliminary  period  of  two  years  after  the 

250 


acceptance  of  the  ordinance,  during  which  the  Illinois 
Central  and  its  associated  lines  will  lower  their  tracks, 
rearrange  utility  services,  and  make  general  plans  and 
preparations,  all  of  the  suburban  service  is  to  be  elec- 
trified within  the  succeeding  five  years  or  by  the  summer 
of  1927. 

In  1930,  or  three  years  later,  all  of  the  freight  service 
north  of  Roosevelt  Road,  or  Twelfth  Street,  is  to  be 
changed  to  electrical  operation.  Within  five  additional 
years,  or  by  1935,  all  of  the  freight  service  south  of 
Roosevelt  Road  and  within  the  city  limits  is  to  be  changed 
over  from  steam  operation.  Finally,  within  another  five- 
year  period,  or  by  1940,  the  through  passenger  service 
is  to  be  equipped  for  electrical  operation. 

Study  of  Electrification  System 

Large  forces  of  engineers  and  draftsmen  are  now  en- 
gaged in  making  preliminary  plans  necessary  to  carry- 
ing out  the  work  authorized  in  this  ordinance.  A  com- 
mission of  widely  known  electrical  engineers  has  been 
employed  by  the  Illinois  Central  to  recommend  the  sys- 
tem of  electrification  to  be  adopted.  In  considering  the 
beginning  of  the  electrification  of  the  Illinois  Central  and 
Michigan  Central  group  of  roads  it  is  well  to  appreciate 
that  no  electrification  project  of  similar  complexity  has 
ever  been  carried  out  before. 

That  the  work  will  be  successfully  accomplished  on 
time,  no  one  doubts.  As  a  visible  evidence  of  progress 
the  Illinois  Central  has  recently  installed  twenty  new 
steel  suburban  coaches,  designed  for  use  under  electrical 
operation.  These  coaches  embody  a  number  of  new  ideas 
and  their  performance  will  be  carefully  studied.  Tests 
are  also  being  made  of  other  forms  of  electrical  equip- 
ment, to  the  end  that  when  construction  begins  the  Chi- 
cago project  will  utilize  the  latest  and  most  practical 
equipment  that  science  has  developed. 

The  next  fifty  years  is  certain  to  bring  fundamental 
changes  in  the  operation  of  Chicago's  railroads  beyond 
conception  at  the  present  time.  In  nineteen  years  the  Illi- 
nois Central  group  of  roads  will  have  been  completely 
electrified.  Before  this  work  is  completed,  efforts  will 
undoubtedly  be  made  to  induce  other  roads  to  follow  the 
example  of  the  Illinois  Central  group. 

251 


STREET   LIGHTING 


Great  and  General  Illumination  Coming  Out  of  Primitive 
Gas  Light  Facilities  of  Year  of  Great  Fire 

What  street  lighting  there  was  in  Chicago  at  the  time 
of  the  great  fire  in  1871  was  obtained  from  a  few  primi- 
tive gas  lights  placed  on  street  corners.  Gas  was  fur- 
nished from  a  small  plant  located  on  the  near  West  Side, 
but  this  new  form  of  illuminant  was  considered  such  a 
luxury  that  it  was  a  number  of  years  afterward  before  it 
began  to  replace  kerosene  lamps  in  the  homes. 

Chicago  streets  were  wholly  lighted  by  gas  for  sixteen 
years  after  the  fire,  and  even  after  the  introduction  of 
electric  street  lighting  gas  was  used  for  a  long  period 
throughout  the  greater  part  of  the  city.  One  reason  for 
the  extensive  use  of  gas  in  Chicago  was  that  standards 
could  be  more  economically  installed  and  operated  in 
residential  sections  and  the  further  fact  that  the  change  to 
electric  lighting  could  not  keep  pace  with  the  growth  of 
the  city. 

Chicago's  first  municipal  electric  lighting  station  was 
placed  in  operation  on  Christmas  eve,  1887,  and  con- 
sisted of  one  hundred  lights  located  along  the  river  at 
street  intersections.  From  that  small  beginning  the  mu- 
nicipal system  was  rapidly  expanded  until  on  December 
31,  1918,  there  were  45,534  electric  lamps  in  operation. 

The  number  of  municipally-operated  street  lights,  how- 
ever, at  no  time  measured  the  extent  of  the  city's  lighting 
system.  So  rapidly  did  Chicago  grow  that  at  all  times 
in  addition  to  the  municipally-operated  lights  the  city 
leased  large  numbers  of  gas,  gasoline  and  electric  lights 
from  commercial  companies.  This  was  particularly  the 
case  in  the  outlying  and  less  built  up  sections  of  the  city. 

The  power  for  Chicago's  municipal  lighting  system 
was  generated  by  the  city  in  steam  plants  until  the  middle 
of  1908,  when  they  were  abandoned  and  power  obtained 
from  the  hydro-electric  plant  of  the  Sanitary  District 
located  at  the  terminus  of  the  drainage  canal  near  Lock- 
port,  Illinois. 

From  the  time  cheap  power  of  the  Sanitary  District 
became  available  the  city's  lighting  system  has  been 
rapidly  extended  year  by  year.  Substation  after  substa- 

252 


tion  has  been  built  to  serve  residential  and  business  areas, 
and  gradually  the  system  has  caught  up  with  the  growth 
of  Chicago  and  the  number  of  rented  street  lights  has 
been  correspondingly  decreased. 

As  illustrating  the  rapid  changes  which  the  city's  street 
lighting  system  has  undergone  it  may  be  recalled  that  as 
late  as  1915  the  flaming  arc  lamp  was  believed  to  be  the 
most  efficient  high  power  type  lighting  unit.  Large  num- 
bers of  such  lamps  were  installed  throughout  the  city  by 
the  department  between  1912  and  1915,  and  business  and 
improvement  associations,  desiring  a  greater  intensity  of 
lighting  than  furnished  by  the  city,  were  abandoning  the 
old  incandescent  cluster  lights  on  low  standards  in  favor 
of  flaming  arcs  on  higher  standards.  The  lighting  of 
Dearborn  Street  in  the  downtown  district,  in  which  The 
Chicago  Association  of  Commerce  assisted,  was  a  notable 
example. 

Progress  Beyond  Imagination 

Today  the  nitrogen  filled  tungsten  lamp,  an  incan- 
descent type,  is  proving  more  economical  than  the  flam- 
ing arc.  In  consequence,  the  city's  lighting  plans  are 
already  being  changed  from  the  use  of  high  power  units 
on  high  standards  at  relatively  great  distances  apart  to 
lower  power  units  on  lower  standards  more  closely 
spaced,  with  the  result  that  for  the  same  cost  it  is  possi- 
ble to  obtain  a  greater  amount  of  illumination  more 
evenly  distributed. 

The  city's  plans  for  extending  the  present  electric 
lighting  system  include  the  replacement  of  all  gas  and 
gasoline  lighting  with  modern,  economical  and  efficient 
electric  lamps. 

Judging  from  past  developments  in  the  art  of  street 
lighting,  it  is  fair  to  predict  that  the  next  half  century 
will  bring  improved  facilities  and  equipment  beyond 
imagination  at  the  present  time.  Among  the  more  imme- 
diate improvements  which  can  be  foreseen,  the  proposed 
hydro-electric  development  at  Brandon's  Road  by  the 
Sanitary  District,  which  will  double  the  amount  of  power 
at  present  produced,  will  give  the  city  of  Chicago  not 
only  the  best  lighted  streets  of  any  city  in  the  world,  but 
make  possible  the  obtaining  of  current  for  operation  at 
a  cost  that  will  permit  unlimited  illumination. 

253 


INDUSTRIES  ON  DRAINAGE  CANAL 


Navigation  Improvements  Will  Turn  Industrial  Attention 
to  Sites  Along   Chicago's   Ship   Channel 

Measured  by  its  reserves  for  future  industrial  growth, 
Chicago  is  indeed  fortunate,  for  with  the  single  exception 
of  the  north  shore  there  lie  on  all  sides  of  the  city  large 
areas  already  served  by  rail  lines  and  only  awaiting  the 
nearer  approach  of  the  city  to  be  changed  to  manufac- 
turing and  residential  uses.  Of  these  there  is  one  in  par- 
ticular worthy  of  mention  because  of  the  possibilities  it 
presents  for  development  in  the  immediate  future.  Ref- 
erence is  made  to  the  Sanitary  Canal  stretching  from 
Robey  Street  in  Chicago  to  Joliet,  a  distance  of  32  miles, 
and  presenting  64  miles  of  dock  frontage  on  a  channel 
200  feet  wide,  24  feet  in  depth,  and  capable  of  floating 
the  largest  vessels  that  ply  the  Great  Lakes.  The  entire 
dock  frontage  along  the  main  drainage  channel,  as  well 
as  the  Calumet-Sag  channel,  connecting  the  Calumet  and 
Northern  Indiana  manufacturing  districts,  is  owned  by 
the  Sanitary  District  of  Chicago  and  is  available  for 
lease  to  industries  on  terms  extremely  reasonable. 

Already  the  main  channel  of  the  Sanitary  District  is 
the  site  of  a  number  of  the  city's  large  industries  which 
have  found  important  advantages  in  a  location  served  by 
both  rail  and  water. 

When  Chicago's  dream  as  an  ocean  port  nears  realiza- 
tion, as  provided  in  the  Great  Lakes-St.  Lawrence  and 
Lakes-to-Gulf  waterway  projects,  numerous  industries, 
warehouses  and  shipping  concerns  will  find  this  virgin 
territory  along  Chicago's  ship  canal  an  admirable  loca- 
tion for  their  business.  Spanned  and  surrounded  by  Chi- 
cago's network  of  railroads,  and  adjacent  to  the  Great 
Central  Market,  this  territory  is  destined  in  coming 
years  to  be  a  thriving  center  of  industry  and  commerce. 

Spoil  banks  along  the  channels,  partly  of  clay  and 
partly  of  stone,  are  already  being  utilized  to  a  certain 
extent  by  industries,  and  plans  now  being  developed  call 
for  the  more  rapid  preparation  of  these  sites  for  their 
ultimate  use. 

254 


MUNICIPAL   MISCELLANY 


Chicago  Wastes  Water — Garbage  Disposal  Methods  Prim- 
itive— Street  Improvement — Track  Elevation 


With  a  daily  consumption  of  264  gallons  per  capita 
of  water,  Chicago  has  established  a  record  for  wasteful- 
ness. This  is  far  more  than  the  amount  consumed  by 
the  residents  of  any  other  city.  It  indicates  that  great 
amounts  of  water  vanish  in  a  manner  that  has  not  been 
accounted  for,  either  being  wasted  indiscriminately  or 
being  appropriated  by  industries  to  a  degree  that  is  not 
appreciated.  Figures  for  the  year  show  that  the  average 
daily  consumption  is  714,451,000  gallons,  or  2,270  gal- 
lons for  each  tap. 

It  is  contended  by  many  that  the  remedy  for  this  situa- 
tion is  in  the  use  of  meters.  At  present  only  8.9  per  cent 
of  the  service  pipe  is  metered.  All  told,  there  are  2,915.7 
miles  of  service  pipe  in  Chicago.  This  pipe  is  from  4 
to  48  inches  and  is  of  cast  iron.  The  range  of  pressure 
is  from  15  to  60  pounds.  In  cities  where  meters  are  in 
general  use  the  consumption  per  capita  is  far  less,  the 
number  of  large  industries  which  consume  water  being 
also  less. 

Disposal  of  garbage  in  Chicago  is  handled  in  a  primi- 
tive manner.  The  present  system  is  one  that  might  be 
suitable  for  a  village,  but  that  is  entirely  inadequate  for 
a  large  city.  The  garbage  is  now  dumped  into  the  old 
quarries  and  clay  holes,  which  in  time  are  certain  to  be 
filled.  The  problem  then  will  be  even  more  difficult  of 
solution. 

The  present  plan  has  been  condemned  as  unnecessarily 
expensive  and  as  being  decidedly  unsanitary.  During 
the  administration  of  Carter  H.  Harrison  as  mayor  a  start 
was  made  toward  building  an  incinerator  quite  a  distance 
out  on  the  South  Side.  His  term  as  mayor  ended  before 
the  incinerator  was  finished  and  the  work  was  dropped 
by  succeeding  administrations.  The  frame  of  the  in- 
cinerator is  still  standing.  It  was  the  intention  to  dis- 
pose of  the  garbage  by  burning  at  this  plant.  The  gar- 
bage was  to  be  handled  in  a  scientific,  up-to-date  man- 

255 


ner,  but  this  idea  has  been  given  up  and  now  nothing  is 
being  done  to  solve  the  problem. 

Streets  and  Highways 

At  the  time  of  the  Chicago  fire,  Chicago's  streets, 
where  improved  at  all,  were  covered  with  heavy  plank- 
ing to  make  traffic  possible  in  wet  weather.  Shortly 
afterwards,  in  1874,  cedar  blocks  were  introduced,  fol- 
lowed by  asphalt  in  1882,  brick  in  1891  and  creosoted 
wood  block  in  1893. 

Today  Chicago  has  3,257  miles  of  streets,  of  which 
2,188  miles,  or  68  per  cent,  are  improved  with  modern, 
substantial  pavements.  In  a  normal  year  Chicago  im- 
proves between  100  and  150  miles  of  streets,  spending 
as  much  as  $6,000,000  in  one  year  on  this  single  item 
of  public  works.  At  the  rate  Chicago's  streets  are  being 
improved  it  is  a  safe  prediction  that  before  another  fifty 
years  shall  have  passed  Chicago  will  be  a  100  per  cent 
paved  city,  unless  in  the  meantime  there  are  made  con- 
siderable additions  of  unimproved  territory. 

Connecting  Chicago's  improved  streets  the  county  to- 
day has  194  miles  of  improved  highways,  which  in  turn 
connect  with  the  highways  of  adjacent  counties  as  co- 
ordinate parts  of  a  state-wide  system  of  hard  surfaced 
roads. 

Track  Elevation 

For  many  years  Chicago  has  given  official  recognition 
to  the  safety  first  movement  by  carrying  out  a  policy 
of  elevating  main  railway  lines.  Of  these  lines  a  total 
of  4,000  miles  have  been  mapped  out  as  comprising  the 
task  the  city  has  set  itself  to  perform. 

To  date  970  miles  of  this  large  total  have  been  com- 
pleted at  a  total  expenditure  of  $95,000,000.  In  addition 
280  miles  have  been  provided  for  by  city  ordinances,  but 
not  yet  completed.  The  work  completed  has  resulted  in 
the  elimination  of  963  grade  crossings.  There  remain 
536  crossings  at  grade  to  be  eliminated  in  connection 
with  pending  and  future  work.  Track  elevation  is  a  set- 
tled part  of  Chicago's  many  plans  for  making  a  greater 
city  and  the  work  will  be  carried  forward  year  by  year 
as  rapidly  as  railroad  finances  permit. 


256 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


CHICAGO,  A  HISTORY  AND  FORECAST.  CHGO 


